FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BeyondSpring Inc. (NASDAQ: BYSI) (“BeyondSpring” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative cancer therapies, today announced that it hosted a virtual Research and Development (R&D) Day to discuss its lead asset Plinabulin, a dendritic cell (DC) maturation agent, in drug combinations to potentially address the current unmet medical needs in cancer indications where patients failed prior PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, as well as updates for SEED Therapeutics which focuses on target protein degradation (TPD) platform for innovative molecular glue drug discovery on May 15, 2024.

The R&D Day was led by Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) Trevor M. Feinstein, M.D. (Piedmont Cancer Institute), Alberto Chiappori, M.D. (Moffitt Cancer Center), and Steven Lin, M.D., Ph.D. (MD Anderson Cancer Center), as well as BeyondSpring and SEED Therapeutics management.

Invited KOLs shared their latest insights on plinabulin’s durable anti-cancer benefit, mechanism-of-action (MOA), and its unique potential as an I/O combination agent with chemotherapy or radiation, in patients that have progressed on PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Over time, plinabulin may have the potential to move into earlier lines of treatment in combination with I/O:

• As a unique tubulin binder, plinabulin drives dendritic cell (DC) maturation/T-cell activation by effectively liberating the immune defense protein GEF-H1 from microtubules.
• Plinabulin alone or in combination has been well-tolerated in >700 cancer patients in two positive phase 3 studies.
  • In a phase 3 study with EGFR wild-type 2L/3L NSCLC, the combination of plinabulin and docetaxel significantly extended OS in all subgroup analyses and doubled 2-year and 3-year OS rates compared to docetaxel alone.
  • In an MD Anderson phase 1 study, in combination with radiotherapy and a PD-1 inhibitor, plinabulin demonstrated its DC maturation MOA in responding patients (PR+SD) in multiple cancers that had progressed during PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy with >50% disease control rate (PR+SD). The most responding cancers include NSCLC, HNSCC and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have been approved in approximately 20 cancer indications with >$40 billion annual sales, and yet around 60% of patients eventually fail, leaving them with limited treatment options.
  • Plinabulin’s potent DC maturation effect, in combination with PD-1/PD-L1 and radiation or chemotherapy, may address unmet medical needs across numerous patient settings following progression from PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy.
  • Plinabulin has the potential to fill a substantial gap in cancer treatment for precisely the same patient settings that have been found elusive to other mechanisms or combinations.

“Additionally, significant headway is being made through various Investigator-Initiated Trial (IIT) studies of plinabulin at leading institutions in the U.S. and China. Preliminary results are expected to be reported in 2H 2024, that are expected to reinforce our unique MOA and lead to a transformative year for BeyondSpring. If interim clinical data from our ongoing studies further validates our unique MOA, then we will look for opportunities to extend and accelerate plinabulin’s outreach through third-party partnerships,” said Dr. Lan Huang, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of BeyondSpring.

Following the plinabulin presentations, Dr. Lan Huang discussed how BeyondSpring’s majority-owned subsidiary, SEED Therapeutics, uses its proprietary TPD platforms to develop “molecular glues” for undruggable targets. Different from PROTAC platforms, molecular glues have the potential advantage of targeting un-ligandable proteins, including proteins without ligandable pocket, and unfolded protein, such as Tau. The SEED TPD platform referred to as RITE3, has translated the scientific breakthroughs and insights of its co-founders, including a Nobel Laureate and two Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, into a diversified and fast-evolving drug development pipeline:

• Differentiated from other molecular glue companies, which are mainly “E3 centric”, SEED’s RITE3 platform is “target centric” and uses novel E3 ligases for protein targets. With detectable weak basal interaction between selected E3 and protein target, the binder hit rates from its high throughput screening is higher.
• 6 internal pipeline assets and 2 partnered assets, in oncology, neurodegeneration, immunology, and virology used 5 novel E3 ligases.
• SEED expects to file an IND in early 2025 for its IND Candidate oral RBM39 degrader, for the treatment of rationally selected cancer indications.
• SEED R&D has a focus on the development of orally delivered molecular glues for CNS indications, with a lead internal program against Tau.

Eli Lilly is a current investor and R&D collaborator with upfront and milestone payments up to $780 million, plus tiered royalties. SEED has achieved 3 milestones with Lilly R&D collaboration.

“I'm delighted to announce SEED's substantial progress in advancing internal initiatives, including an oncology asset advancing towards first human dose in the first half of 2025, Tau degraders for neurodegeneration advancing towards lead molecule status towards the end of 2024. In addition, we have a synergistic collaboration with Eli Lilly, which achieved multiple milestone payments. In the recent “Nature Biotechnology” review article on molecular glues, it was truly a privilege for SEED Therapeutics to be recognized alongside other prominent companies employing groundbreaking TPD molecular glue strategies. Leveraging our unique and proprietary RITE3 platform that focuses on predicting, detecting, and utilizing a pre-existing weak interaction between an E3 ligase and the target disease-causing protein, SEED consistently garners growing interest for additional partnerships and investment,” said Dr. James Tonra, President and CSO of SEED Therapeutics.

An archived replay of the webinar will be available on BeyondSpring’s website www.beyondspringpharma.com under “Events and Presentations” in the Investors section.

Trevor M. Feinstein, M.D.

Dr. Feinstein is board certified in medical oncology and hematology. He joined Piedmont Cancer Institute in 2011 and is the Director of Research at Piedmont Fayette Hospital. Dr. Feinstein is actively involved in clinical trials focused on improved therapies for various cancers. He is a member of Georgia CORE’s research committee along with Georgia Society for Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Committee. He also chairs the Lung Disease Group for the entire OneOncology network. He is a co-investigator on several peer-reviewed research projects and has authored numerous publications and abstracts in Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Feinstein graduated from the University of Illinois medical school and completed his residence and fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh.

Alberto Chiappori, M.D.

Dr. Chiappori is board certified in medical oncology. He serves as senior member of oncology and medicine for the Thoracic Oncology Program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa and Florida. Dr. Chiappori is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Society of Medical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). Dr. Chiappori received his M.D. from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru, completed his residency at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois, and finished his fellowship and senior fellowship in medical oncology-hematology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.

Steven Lin, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Lin is a Professor and Physician-Scientist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, with joint appointments in the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Radiation Oncology. Dr. Lin’s practice focuses on thoracic malignancies, and he oversees several clinical trials including the use of proton beam therapy for esophageal cancer and in the combination of immunotherapy with radiotherapy in lung and esophageal cancers. Dr. Lin runs a translational research team that evaluates biomarkers for treatment response and disease outcomes after cancer therapy. Dr. Lin acquired his M.D. and Ph.D. in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California Irvine Medical School. He went on for residency training in Radiation Oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

About BeyondSpring

BeyondSpring is a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to improve clinical outcomes for patients with high unmet medical needs. The Company is advancing its first-in-class lead asset, Plinabulin, as a direct anti-cancer agent in various cancer indications and to prevent chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. BeyondSpring’s pipeline also includes three preclinical immuno-oncology assets. Additionally, BeyondSpring’s subsidiary, SEED Therapeutics, leverages a proprietary TPD drug discovery platform and has an initial R&D collaboration with Eli Lilly. Learn more by visiting https://beyondspringpharma.com.

About SEED Therapeutics

SEED Therapeutics is an innovative biotech company focusing on harnessing and engineering “molecular glues” and targeted protein degradation (TPD) to attack previously undruggable targets. Backed by a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio, SEED Therapeutics' mission is to positively impact human health by creating novel protein degradation therapeutics to treat various severe diseases that currently have limited treatment options for patients and their families. Through ongoing collaborations with world-leading academic experts in the field, SEED Therapeutics is developing a growing pipeline of novel drug candidates on a path to potential clinical and commercial success. SEED has an initial R&D collaboration and investment from Eli Lilly and Company. Learn more by visiting https://seedtherapeutics.com/.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements that are not historical facts. Words such as “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “design,” “may,” “future,” “estimate,” “predict,” “objective,” “goal,” or variations thereof and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on BeyondSpring’s current knowledge and its present beliefs and expectations regarding possible future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors including, but not limited to, our ability to continue as a going concern, difficulties raising the anticipated amount needed to finance the Company’s future operations on terms acceptable to the Company, if at all, unexpected results of clinical trials, delays or denial in regulatory approval process, results that do not meet the Company’s expectations regarding the potential safety, the ultimate efficacy or clinical utility of the Company’s product candidates, increased competition in the market, the Company’s ability to meet Nasdaq's continued listing requirements, and other risks described in BeyondSpring’s most recent Form 20-F on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this release and BeyondSpring undertakes no obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as otherwise required by law.

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