MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Dec. 1, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immunomedics, Inc. (Nasdaq:IMMU), a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal, antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today announced that stockholders of the Company, at its 27th annual meeting, elected all seven nominees to serve as directors of the Company until the next annual meeting, and ratified the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year. Thereafter, the Board reappointed Dr. David M. Goldenberg as Chairman and Mr. Brian Markison as Lead Independent Director.
In her remarks to stockholders attending the meeting, Cynthia L. Sullivan, President and CEO, said, "We have made significant progress this past year in a number of areas. First of all, data presented at the 2010 annual congress of EULAR and the 9th International Congress on SLE showed that epratuzumab provided a reduction in disease activity in patients with severe or moderate lupus. Clivatuzumab, as a radiolabeled antibody and in combination with gemcitabine, continues to produce encouraging results, including shrinkage of primary tumors, in some patients with advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer. We have launched 2 new studies this past year. The first trial involves milatuzumab-doxorubicin, our first antibody-drug conjugate in clinical trial in patients with multiple myeloma. The second study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, evaluates the combination of veltuzumab and yttrium-90 labeled epratuzumab in patients with aggressive lymphoma."
"On the business side, significant events included our R&D day this past October, which was attended by more than 35 institutional investors, including 9 sell side analysts," Ms. Sullivan continued. "During this past fiscal year, we presented at 10 Wall Street investor conferences and participated in 9 investment bank-sponsored non-deal road shows where we met with 45 institutional investors across the country."
Ms. Sullivan also reiterated that the Company was pleased to receive the largest award in New Jersey from the qualifying therapeutic discovery project program. The Company has also been awarded two Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling $3 million, and 14 US patents and 82 foreign patents this past year.
"One of our foremost clinical goals for fiscal year 2011 is to complete Phase Ib/II trial of clivatuzumab tetraxetan in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced, inoperable, untreated pancreatic cancer. We plan to meet with FDA early next calendar year to discuss protocol design for potential registration trials for this agent," Ms. Sullivan further remarked.
About Immunomedics
Immunomedics is a New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal, antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases. We have developed a number of advanced proprietary technologies that allow us to create humanized antibodies that can be used either alone in unlabeled or "naked" form, or conjugated with radioactive isotopes, chemotherapeutics, cytokines or toxins, in each case to create highly targeted agents. Using these technologies, we have built a pipeline of therapeutic product candidates that utilize several different mechanisms of action. We also have a majority ownership in IBC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is developing a novel Dock-and-Lock (DNL) methodology with us for making fusion proteins and multifunctional antibodies, and a new method of delivering imaging and therapeutic agents selectively to disease, especially different solid cancers (colorectal, lung, pancreas, etc.), by proprietary, antibody-based, pretargeting methods. We believe that our portfolio of intellectual property, which includes approximately 154 patents issued in the United States and more than 375 other patents issued worldwide, protects our product candidates and technologies. For additional information on us, please visit our website at . The information on our website does not, however, form a part of this press release.
This release, in addition to historical information, may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including statements regarding clinical trials, out-licensing arrangements (including the timing and amount of contingent payments), forecasts of future operating results, and capital raising activities, involve significant risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied herein. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks associated with new product development (including clinical trials outcome and regulatory requirements/actions), our dependence on our licensing partners for the further development of epratuzumab for autoimmune indications and veltuzumab for non-cancer indications, competitive risks to marketed products and availability of required financing and other sources of funds on acceptable terms, if at all, as well as the risks discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not under any obligation, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Immunomedics, Inc. Dr. Chau Cheng, Director, Investor Relations & Grant Management (973) 605-8200, extension 123 ccheng@immunomedics.com