Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals Presents at the Nucleic Acid Summit 2014

MILFORD, Mass., June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel drugs to treat a number of medical conditions, with a primary focus in antivirals, today announced two presentations at the Nucleic Acid Summit 2014 held June 19-20, 2014 in San Diego.

"The research presented continues to expand our understanding of small molecule nucleic acid hybrids (SMNH) and the underlying mechanisms of SB9200's antiviral properties," said Radhakrishnan (Kris) Iyer, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Spring Bank.  "We were delighted to participate in this year's Nucleic Acid Summit, a world-class forum for leaders in industry and academia to exchange advances relating to the most cutting-edge technology and discuss the latest in therapeutic, diagnostic and clinical applications.  In addition to these two presentations, Spring Bank's Dr. Pandey was also chosen to moderate two scientific sessions at this important conference."

The details of Spring Bank's presentations are below:

Title:  "Small Molecule Nucleic Acid Hybrids – A Novel Platform for Small Molecule Drug Discovery"
Presenter:  Radhakrishnan (Kris) Iyer, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals
Session:  Emerging Nucleic Acid Technologies
Summary:  Chemically modified nucleic acid fragments can serve as a new class of novel chemical entities for small molecule drug discovery and development.  These molecules, termed "SMNHs", are endowed with outstanding molecular recognition properties for selective targeting of aberrant proteins involved in disease processes.  Additionally, these molecules possess excellent pharmaceutical attributes including oral bioavailability, solubility, and lack of Cytochrome P450 metabolism, among others.  Recent discoveries have led to the development of SMNH compounds as potential broad-spectrum antiviral compounds.  The presentation illustrated the application of SMNH platform for drug discovery in different therapeutic areas and provided an overview of how nucleic acid fragments themselves have diverse biological activities and have implications for the mechanism and off-target effects of Antisense, RNAi, and Aptamer therapeutics.

Spring Bank's SB 9200, an SMNH compound, is currently in human clinical trials against HCV and is poised to enter clinical trials against HBV.  Compounds derived from the SMNH platform have the potential for broad utility in other therapeutic areas as well, including inflammation and cancer.

Title:  "Small Molecule Nucleic Acid Hybrids (SMNH) as Potential Antiviral Agents"
Presenter:  Raj Pandey, Ph.D., Group Leader, Nucleic Acids Therapeutics, Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals
Session:  Emerging Nucleic Acid Technologies
Summary:  Oligonucleotides and analogs are in great demand for their use in aptamer, ribozyme, antisense and siRNA based diagnostic and therapeutic applications.  Small molecule nucleic acid hybrids (SMNH), which are shorter nucleotide units, are rationally designed to target nucleic acid protein interaction.  The presentation provided an overview for synthesis of certain novel SMNH compounds and their screening against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus 1 (HCV1).  The immobilization of oligonucleotides on support materials was described, along with interactions of nucleic acids technology and arrayed nucleic acids technology.

For more information about the Nucleic Acid Summit 2014 please visit: https://www.gtcbio.com/conferences/nucleic-acid-summit-overview

About SB 9200

SB 9200 is a novel clinical candidate being developed for the treatment of chronic HBV and HCV infections and is based on Spring Bank's proprietary Small Molecule Nucleic Acid Hybrid (SMNH) technology platform.  SB 9200 has unique mechanisms of antiviral action involving the selective activation of the host-immune response in virus-infected cells. Unlike other classes of drugs for Hepatitis infections that act directly on the virus, SB 9200 uniquely targets host cytosolic sensor proteins, RIG-I and NOD2, which leads to the selective modulation of the host immune response in virus-infected cells.

About Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals

Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals is engaged in the discovery and development of an entirely new class of safer and more effective medicines based on the Company's proprietary SMNH, "Small Molecule Nucleic Hybrid" technology program.  SB 9200, a potential breakthrough drug for the treatment of HCV and HBV, is the Company's most advanced drug under development.  The Company also has antiviral programs for the treatment of other single and double stranded RNA viruses such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Norovirus and a Broad spectrum antiviral.  Spring Bank also has an early anti-inflammatory program targeting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.

Contact:
Douglas J. Jenson
President and Chief Executive Officer
(508) 473-5993 x105

SOURCE Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc.