Windhover Information selects Oncothyreon's PX-866 among top 10 oncology projects for partnering

Oncothyreon Inc. (Nasdaq: ONTY) (the "Company") today announced that the Company's product candidate PX-866, a PI-3 kinase inhibitor, has been selected by Windhover Information, Inc., as one of the Top 10 most promising oncology projects in development that is available for partnering.

The selection was made by an independent committee assembled by Windhover Information, a leading provider of business information products and services to senior executives in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. As a selected company, Oncothyreon will present data on PX-866 at Windhover's Therapeutic Area Partnerships conference on November 17-19, 2009, in Boston, MA.

PX-866 is an inhibitor of the PI-3-kinase/PTEN/AKT pathway, an important survival signaling pathway that is activated in many types of human cancer. Oncothyreon is currently conducting a Phase 1 trial of PX-866 in patients with advanced metastatic cancer. Based upon the results seen in this trial to date, including the preliminary data presented at the American Society of Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO) earlier this year, Oncothyreon has made the decision to move PX-866 into Phase 2 clinical development in the first half of 2010. The Phase 2 development program is currently expected to include two or more trials of PX-866 in combination with chemotherapy or other targeted agents and as a single agent.

"Preliminary results from our ongoing trial of PX-866 have demonstrated that the activity of the target, PI-3 kinase, can be down-regulated at doses well below the maximally tolerated dose identified in the intermittent dosing arm," said Robert L. Kirkman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Oncothyreon. "As reported at ASCO, we have also had several patients with prolonged stable disease. Based on these data, we are excited by our plan to advance this compound into Phase 2 development next year."

"Oncothyreon's PX-866 was selected following a screening using a strict set of judging criteria for the Top 10 award and it represents what our committee considered one of the most attractive oncology opportunities the industry has to offer," said Roger Longman, Managing Director of Windhover Information. "PX-866 has met rigorous criteria including: unmet medical need, market potential, diversity of indications, strong science, multi-level partnering opportunities (biotech and pharma), potential for new opportunities beyond initial indications, and corporate stability."

Source: ONCOTHYREON INC.