Medivir Hosts Expert Perspectives Webcast on the Evolving Treatment Landscape and the Unique Treatment Challenges in HCC

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Medivir AB (NASDAQ Stockholm: MVIR), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative treatments for cancer in areas of high unmet medical need, announced today that it will host a key opinion leader webcast on the current and future HCC (primary liver cancer) treatment landscape, including how treatment challenges and needs in HCC differs from most other cancers. The webcast will take place on September 8, 2023 at 13:00 CET/07:00 EST.

The webcast will feature presentations by Dr. Jeff Evans, Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Center, Glasgow, UK, who will discuss the current treatment landscape and unmet medical need in treating patients with HCC. He will be joined by Dr. Maria Reig, Liver Cancer Unit, Hospital Clínic BCLC group, Villarroel, Barcelona, Spain, who will discuss how HCC is different from many other tumor types and its unique treatment challenges. Both Drs are investigators in the phase 1b/2a study with fostrox in combination with Lenvima and will also share their perspectives from the ongoing study. They will be joined by Dr Pia Baumann, Medivir's CMO who will provide an update on the ongoing study and fostrox development plans.

All three will be available to answer questions following the formal presentations.

The webcast will be streamed via a link on the website: www.medivir.com/investors/presentations The presentation will be available on Medivir´s website after the webcast.

-          "The promising observations we have seen so far in the ongoing phase 1b/2a study of fostrox in combination with Lenvima mean that we are further intensifying our plans for the next phase of clinical development of fostrox. When doing so, it is critical that this is done in close collaboration with external experts to ensure that the specific needs of the disease and changes in treatment landscape are central components of future plans. We are pleased that Drs Evans and Reig, members of our Scientific Advisory Council, are able to provide their expertise on these important topics in this webcast," says Dr. Pia Baumann, CMO at Medivir.

Dr. Jeff Evans is a Professor of Translational Cancer Research in the School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, UK. He is the Lead of the Glasgow Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) and National Clinical Lead of the NHS Scotland Cancer Research Network. He is an investigator in the fostrox clinical development program.

Dr. Maria Reig is the Head of the BCLC and Liver Oncology Unit at Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in Spain. Her expertise and area of interest is the development of prognostic models for patients with liver cancer and evaluation of treatment options with special emphasis in systemic therapy as well as new research about immune modulation and cancer emergence after antiviral treatment. She is an investigator in the fostrox clinical program.

For additional information, please contact;
Magnus Christensen, CFO, Medivir AB
Telephone: +46 8 5468 3100
E-mail: [email protected] 

About fostrox
Fostrox is a pro-drug designed to selectively treat liver cancers and to minimize side effects. It has the potential to become the first liver-targeted and orally administered drug for patients with HCC. Fostrox has completed a phase 1b monotherapy study, and a combination study in HCC currently ongoing.

About primary liver cancer
Primary liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cancer that arises in the liver. Although existing therapies for advanced HCC can extend the lives of patients, treatment benefits are insufficient and death rates remain high. There are approximately 660,000 patients diagnosed with primary liver cancer per year globally and current five-year survival is less than 20 percent1). HCC is a heterogeneous disease with diverse etiologies, and lacks defining mutations observed in many other cancers. This has contributed to the lack of success of molecularly targeted agents in HCC. The limited overall benefit, taken together with the poor overall prognosis for patients with intermediate and advanced HCC, results in a large unmet medical need.

About Medivir
Medivir develops innovative drugs with a focus on cancer where the unmet medical needs are high. The drug candidates are directed toward indication areas where available therapies are limited or missing and there are great opportunities to offer significant improvements to patients. Medivir is focusing on the development of fostroxacitabine bralpamide (fostrox), a pro-drug designed to selectively treat liver cancer and to minimize side effects. Collaborations and partnerships are important parts of Medivir's business model, and the drug development is conducted either by Medivir or in partnership. Birinapant, a SMAC mimetic, is exclusively outlicensed to IGM Biosciences (Nasdaq: IGMS) to be developed in combination with IGM-antibodies for the treatment of solid tumors. Medivir's share (ticker: MVIR) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm's Small Cap list. www.medivir.com.

1)       Rumgay et al.,European Journal of Cancer 2022 vol.161, 108-118.

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