CytRx Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
LOS ANGELES – May 8, 2018 -- CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, and provided an overview of recent accomplishments and plans for its research and development programs.
"We've had a strong start to 2018, highlighted by the presentation of statistically significant breakthrough data for our four new albumin binding ultra high potency LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) drug candidates at AACR 2018," said Eric Curtis, CytRx's President and Chief Operating Officer. "The potential competitive advantages of the LADR™ assets over antibody-drug conjugates are significant, including broader therapeutic utility and patient populations, lower risk of immune responses, lower cost of goods, simpler manufacturing, and no requirement for antibody receptors. Looking ahead to the remainder of 2018, we are laser-focused on securing a strategic alliance for the innovative LADR™ technology, with the goal of closing a transaction during the fourth quarter of 2018."
First Quarter 2018 and Recent Highlights
Eric L. Curtis is Named President and Chief Operating Officer. In early May 2018, CytRx announced that its Board of Directors had affirmed the appointment of Mr. Curtis to be the President and Chief Operating Officer of CytRx. Mr. Curtis will be part of CytRx's executive management team and will utilize his significant development and operational expertise to partner the Company's LADR™ technology and assets, as well as maximize the success of CytRx's scientific programs. He had previously served as an independent consultant for the Company's internal development efforts and external partner relationships. Mr. Curtis, who holds an M.B.A., brings more than 25 years of life science leadership experience to CytRx, with a proven track record in oncology and orphan diseases.
NantCell Inc.'s Aldoxorubicin Abstract Selected for Presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2018 Annual Meeting. In April 2018, CytRx highlighted that an abstract submitted by aldoxorubicin licensee NantCell, Inc., a private subsidiary of NantWorks, LLC, entitled Lack of cardiac toxicity in patients treated with aldoxorubicin with doxorubicin equivalent doses beyond 1000mg/m2 was selected for a poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2018 Annual meeting, to be held June 1 - 5 in Chicago. Dr. Sant Chawla, Principal Investigator and Director of the Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica, California, will be the presenter. CytRx out-licensed global development, manufacturing, and commercialization rights for aldoxorubicin to NantCell, Inc. in July 2017.
Presented Statistically Significant Breakthrough LADR™ Candidate Data at the AACR 2018 Annual Meeting. In April 2018, CytRx presented three posters highlighting breakthrough data relating to its LADR™ drug candidates at the AACR 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago. The posters describe the positive scientific findings that led to the Company's decision to select auristatin E (AE) derivatives LADR-7 and LADR-8, and maytansine derivatives LADR-9 and LADR-10, as the LADR™ candidates eligible to advance toward IND-enabling studies. The compounds demonstrated excellent, long-term antitumor activity across a wide range of human solid tumor cancer types, including lung, breast, ovarian, head and neck, renal cell, and melanoma. PDF copies of the presented posters (abstracts #1657, #2661, and #3703) can be accessed here.