Aprea AB

PRESS RELEASE, December 22, 2011

For pdf file with the press release, click here.

Aprea strengthens its board  

Stockholm, Sweden – December 22, 2011. Aprea AB announces that Peter Buhl Jensen has been elected as a new member of the board. Peter Buhl Jensen is Professor in Clinical Oncology at Copenhagen University, MD, DMSc and former Chief Oncologist at the Department of Oncology, Ålborg Hospital.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Buhl Jensen to the board”, says Wenche Rolfsen, Chairman of Aprea AB. “His extensive development experience within oncology from the pharmaceutical- and biotechnology industries will be a great benefit to the company as we move forward.”

Peter Buhl Jensen is a co-founder of the Danish cancer therapeutics company Topotarget for which he also was CEO between 2001 and 2010. Peter Buhl Jensen is currently CEO for LiPlasome Pharma ApS and Board Director of Vecata A/S, Mirrx A/S, PledPharma AB, Copenhagen University Proof of Concept financing board, Symbion A/S and WNT Research AB. He has published more than 100 scientific papers on drug development within oncology.

For further information, please contact:
Ulf Björklund, CEO Aprea AB
Phone: +46 (0)8 50884504
ulf.bjorklund @ aprea.com

TO THE EDITORS

About Aprea

Aprea AB is a Swedish biotech company focusing on discovery and development of novel anticancer compounds targeting the tumor suppressor protein p53. Aberrations in p53 are common in many various cancer forms and are associated with increased resistance to standard chemotherapy and thus poor prognosis. Aprea is a Karolinska Development AB (publ) portfolio company. The other main owners are Industrifonden, Östersjöstiftelsen, Praktikerinvest and KD Co-Investment Fund KB. www.aprea.com

About APR-246

APR-246 has been developed based on results from researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The researchers have discovered that the substance is more efficacious in cancer cells than normal cells, which indicates that it could produce significantly fewer side effects than conventional cancer treatments. By reactivating the tumor suppressor protein p53 the compound induces the cellular suicide program that eliminates the cancer cells. This has been shown in both in vitro laboratory studies and animal in vivo studies with good results. A unique characteristic of the substance is that it can activate p53 even when the gene is mutated. Cancers with mutated p53 are often more resistant to conventional treatment.

PRESS RELEASE, December 12, 2011

For pdf file with the press release, click here.

Aprea announces continuation of clinical Phase I/II-study of APR-246 in patients with leukemia

STOCKHOLM – December 12, 2011. Aprea AB today announces that the first patient has been dosed in a clinical Phase I/II-study of APR-246. The primary aim of the study is to evaluate safety and pharmacokinetics, but also to make an early assessment of effectiveness. Aprea is a Karolinska Development AB (publ) portfolio company. Other main owners are Industrifonden, Östersjöstiftelsen and Praktikerinvest.

“This Phase I/II-study is a continuation of an earlier completed dose finding study, which showed that APR-246 was safe at predicted therapeutic plasma levels. The previous study also demonstrated dose and time independent pharmacokinetics of the compound over the dose range studied. The primary aim of the current clinical trial is to further evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics and to establish the optimum dose and duration of exposure”, says Ulf Björklund, CEO at Aprea AB.

The study is being carried out at five sites in Sweden under the supervision of Dr. Sören Lehmann at the Department of Hematology of the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm. It will include 10 patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), refractory to standard treatment. The study is expected to be completed during the first half of 2012.

APR-246 belongs to a novel class of anticancer compounds shown to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) through p53, a protein frequently changed in a wide range of tumors.

For further information, please contact:
Ulf Björklund, CEO, Aprea
Phone: +46 (0)8 508 845 04, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

TO THE EDITORS

About Aprea

Aprea AB is a Swedish biotech company focusing on discovery and development of novel anticancer compounds targeting the tumor suppressor protein p53. Aberrations in p53 are common in many various cancer forms and are associated with increased resistance to standard chemotherapy and thus poor prognosis. Aprea is a Karolinska Development AB (publ) portfolio company. Other main owners are Industrifonden, Östersjöstiftelsen, and Praktikerinvest. www.aprea.com

About APR-246

APR-246 has been developed based on results from researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The researchers have discovered that the substance is more efficacious in cancer cells than normal cells, which indicates that it could produce significantly fewer side effects than conventional cancer treatments. By reactivating the tumor suppressor protein p53 the compound induces the cellular suicide program that eliminates the cancer cells. This has been shown in both in vitro laboratory studies and animal in vivo studies with good results. A unique characteristic of the substance is that it can activate p53 even when the gene is mutated. Cancers with mutated p53 are often more resistant to conventional treatment.

Åsa Fransson, Ph.D., has been recruited as a substitute for Maria Uustalu, who is on maternity leave from December 12, 2011. Prior to joining Aprea, Åsa Fransson has been working at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala, where she finished her Ph.D. in 2008, the Wenner-Gren Institute at Stockholm University, the Department of Molecular Biology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, and at Pharmacia in Uppsala.

PRESS RELEASE, September 9, 2011

For pdf file with the press release, click here.

Aprea secures funding for further development of the anticancer compound APR-246

Stockholm, Sweden - September 9, 2011. Aprea AB today announced that it has secured SEK 20.4m (EUR 2.1m) which will allow the company to complete its planned continuation of its clinical study with APR-246 in patients with hematologic malignancies. The company also announced that Torbjörn Bjerke has been elected as a new member of the board.

The financing round was directed to the current owners. This funding will be applied to advancing the program of Aprea’s drug candidate APR-246. The clinical study will be conducted at five Swedish sites and will together with a pre-clinical program and a 3-cyclic toxicology study in dog, provide a good basis for the design of the proof-of-concept clinical study.

APR-246 belongs to a novel class of anticancer compounds shown to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) through p53, a protein frequently changed in a wide range of tumors. The compound has been tested in a phase I/II clinical trial showing that it is safe at predicted therapeutic plasma levels.

Furthermore, Torbjörn Bjerke, CEO of Karolinska Development, has been elected as a new member of the board of directors.

"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bjerke to the board," says Wenche Rolfsen, chairman of Aprea AB. "His extensive corporate and development experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will be a great benefit to the company as we move forward”.

For further information, please contact:
Ulf Björklund, CEO
Aprea AB
Phone: +46 (0)8 50884504
ulf.bjorklund @ aprea.com

TO THE EDITORS

About Aprea
Aprea AB is a Swedish biotech company focusing on discovery and development of novel anticancer compounds targeting the tumor suppressor protein p53. Aberrations in p53 are common in many various cancer forms and are associated with increased resistance to standard chemotherapy and thus poor prognosis. Aprea is a Karolinska Development AB (publ) portfolio company. The other main owners are Industrifonden, Östersjöstiftelsen, Praktikerinvest and KD Co-Investment Fund KB.

About APR-246
APR-246 has been developed based on results from researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The researchers have discovered that the substance is more efficacious in cancer cells than normal cells, which indicates that it could produce significantly fewer side effects than conventional cancer treatments. By reactivating the tumor suppressor protein p53 the compound induces the cellular suicide program that eliminates the cancer cells. This has been shown in both in vitro laboratory studies and animal in vivo studies with good results. A unique characteristic of the substance is that it can activate p53 even when the gene is mutated. Cancers with mutated p53 are often more resistant to conventional treatment.