Data to Be Published in the Journal of Immunology Research Support Phosphatidylserine (PS) as a Potential Target in Ebola Infection

TUSTIN, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 15, 2014) - Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPHM) (NASDAQ: PPHMP), today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed manuscript related to preclinical research demonstrating that the company's lead drug candidate bavituximab, a phosphatidylserine (PS)-targeting antibody, exhibits specific and strong binding to Ebola virions and Ebola virus (EBOV)-infected cells in vitro. These results will appear in the Vaccines and Therapies for Biodefense Agents special edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Immunology Research in a manuscript titled: "Effective Binding of a Phosphatidylserine-Targeting Antibody to Ebola Virus Infected Cells and Purified Virions."

"The recent outbreaks of Ebola infections highlight the need for novel clinical treatments and new combinations that are effective in treating the disease. We have a number of active collaborations exploring the potential of PS-targeting antibodies in infectious diseases and the results just published, along with a growing body of scientific literature, support potential applications of our PS-targeting platform in virus infections including Ebola," said Jeff T. Hutchins, Ph.D. vice president, preclinical research at Peregrine Pharmaceuticals. "Evolution has favored pathogenesis that exposes PS and these published results, along with other recently to be published data, have shown that PS is present during Ebola virus infection^1-3 and is important in the infection process. While our primary focus remains on advancing bavituximab in oncology, including our SUNRISE Phase III lung cancer trial, we believe these data warrant further collaborative investigation in Ebola and other infectious diseases including combinations with vaccines and active therapies that have shown promise."

The manuscript details the results from a study demonstrating that exposed PS allows for the specific binding of bavituximab to purified Ebola virions and EBOV-infected cells in vitro. Previous published studies have shown that surface exposure of PS antigen is a consequence of viral infection. Published results in other lethal viral hemorrhagic fever animal model (Pichinde virus infection model in guinea pigs)⁵ suggest that PS-targeting antibodies can bind to exposed PS and limit viral infection by initiating the removal of virions from the bloodstream through the induction of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) as well as eliminate virus-infected cells.