Kitov Pharma Receives Notice of Intention to Grant a European Patent Covering CM24, its anti-CEACAM1 Antibody

Patent coverage for CM24 now extends to the U.S. and the EU

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kitov Pharma Ltd. (“Kitov”) (NASDAQ/TASE: KTOV), a clinical-stage company advancing first-in-class therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, today announced receipt of a notification from the European Patent Office to grant a patent for Kitov’s application entitled “Humanized antibodies against CEACAM1.” The patent covers protein and DNA sequences pertaining to humanized antibodies capable of specific binding to human CEACAM1 molecules, including its lead monoclonal antibody, CM24, pharmaceutical compositions comprising these antibodies, as well as methods for their use in treating and diagnosing cancer and other conditions.

Kitov is currently advancing preparations to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of CM24 in combination with nivolumab (Opdivo) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and in combination with nivolumab in addition to standard of care chemotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer. The trial will be conducted under a clinical collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Company, and is expected to begin in the second half of 2020.

 “We are very pleased with this new addition to our patent coverage in the EU, which, together with the corresponding US patent which has been granted earlier this year, strongly positions CM24 as a unique approach for treating cancer patients. We look forward to the anticipated initiation of our planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial with BMS later this year,” said Isaac Israel, Kitov’s Chief Executive Officer.

About Kitov Pharma

Kitov Pharma (Kitov Pharma Ltd.; NASDAQ/TASE: KTOV) is a clinical-stage company focusing on advancing first-in-class therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, to create successful long-lasting treatments for people with cancer. Kitov’s oncology pipeline includes NT-219 and CM-24. NT-219 is a small molecule targeting the novel cancer drug resistance pathways IRS1/2 and STAT3. Kitov is currently advancing NT-219 as a monotherapy treatment of advanced solid tumors and in combination with cetuximab for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cancer (SCCHN) in a planned phase 1/2 study. CM-24 is a monoclonal antibody blocking CEACAM1, a novel immune checkpoint that supports tumor immune evasion and survival through multiple pathways. Kitov plans to advance CM-24 as a combination therapy with anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors in selected cancer indications in a phase 1 study followed by a phase 2 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer NSCLC and pancreatic cancer. Kitov has entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb Company for the planned phase 1/2 clinical trials to evaluate the combination of CM-24 with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo). Kitov is also the owner of Consensi, a fixed-dose combination of celecoxib and amlodipine besylate, for the simultaneous treatment of osteoarthritis pain and hypertension that was approved by the FDA for marketing in the U.S. Consensi is being sold in the U.S. by Burke Therapeutics, the marketing partner of Kitov’s U.S. distributor, Coeptis Pharmaceuticals. Kitov has also partnered to commercialize Consensi in China and South Korea. The company is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit http://www.kitovpharma.com.