Melbourne, Australia; 27 July 2020: Starpharma (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced the opening of the MD Anderson Cancer Center as a further trial site for the phase 1 trial of AZD0466, AstraZeneca’s first DEP^® product.

AZD0466 is a highly optimised nanomedicine formulation of AstraZeneca’s novel dual Bcl2/xL inhibitor which utilises Starpharma’s DEP^® technology. The development of AZD0466 is being progressed under a multi-product licence whereby Starpharma is eligible to receive development, launch and sales milestones.

Dr Jackie Fairley, Starpharma CEO, commented: “We’re pleased to see the ongoing progress of the AZD0466 trial. It is exciting to have this highly novel DEP^®-based product being made available to patients at this leading international cancer center.”

About AZD0466

AZD0466 is a dendrimer-based formulation of a novel dual Bcl2/xL inhibitor developed under Starpharma’s multi-product DEP^® licence with AstraZeneca. AZD0466 utilises DEP^® to improve the formulation characteristics and therapeutic index of the anti-cancer agent and is currently in a phase 1 trial in the US. AZD0466 is described as having the potential to be a ‘best-in-class’ agent with a broad opportunity in solid and haematological tumours (blood cancers) due to its ability to target both Bcl2 and Bcl/xL. AZD0466 has demonstrated excellent anti-cancer activity in a wide range of preclinical tumour models including Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC).

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