The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® Provides Equity Financing to BioTheryX, Inc. to Accelerate Drug Development for Blood Cancer

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Nov 30, 2010, 08:00 ET

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and CHAPPAQUA, N.Y., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and BioTheryX, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a partnership to accelerate the development of new therapies for hematological malignancies with an initial focus on acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The partnership marks the first time that LLS has provided funds through the acquisition of equity.

LLS has provided $4.5 million in financing through its Therapy Acceleration Program to support preclinical studies needed for an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) and a clinical trial of BTX-10504, BioTheryX's lead compound. The investment also supports the development of BTX-10504 analogs and follow-on compounds.

The activity of BTX-10504 in AML was identified simultaneously by BioTheryX and by a LLS-funded academic researcher. Joint validation of the potential of BTX-10504 to treat AML and other blood cancers led to the partnership.

"Our alliance with BioTheryX represents the latest step in the evolution of LLS toward becoming a fully integrated partner in the process of blood cancer therapy development," said John Walter, LLS chief executive officer. "The project capitalizes on research funded through our biomedical research grant program and recognizes the important role of industry in bringing new therapies to the patients we care about."

"We are honored that LLS recognizes the potential of BTX-10504 and is making a substantial investment to bring this important new potential product to AML patients," said David Stirling, PhD, CEO of BioTheryX. "To achieve this ambitious goal, BioTheryX has assembled an interdisciplinary team of leading research scientists and clinicians in the USA, Canada, Asia, and Europe who share a strong commitment and sense of urgency to bring treatments to patients."

Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD, LLS Chief Mission Officer, will join the BioTheryX board of directors as a result of the partnership.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org or contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. www.lls.org.

About BioTheryX, Inc.

BioTheryX is led by CEO Dr. David Stirling, a founder and former Chief Scientific Officer of Celgene Corporation. While at Celgene, Dr. Stirling was the chief architect of Celgene's successful Thalidomide strategy, as well as the analog program which led to FDA approval of Revlimid in 2005. Incorporated in 2007, and headquartered in Chappaqua, NY, BioTheryX leverages its extensive experience and proven commercial success to deliver efficacious therapies to patients with unmet medical needs more quickly and less expensively than the biomedical industry traditionally can and does. The company is exploiting enhanced biology-driven models to identify effective core molecules that can be rapidly exploited using focused and prioritized chemistry approaches coupled with clinically proven translational approaches targeted for cancer and immune dysfunction. To learn more, visit www.biotheryx.com or contact BioTheryX President Lawrence Zaslow at 914-490-5425.