AVEO granted patents for tests to identify cancer patients likely to respond to tivozanib

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,615,353, which issued in November 2009, and 7,736,861, which issued yesterday. These patents cover two different diagnostic tests for identifying human patients likely to respond to treatment with tivozanib, AVEO's highly potent and selective inhibitor of VEGF receptors 1, 2 and 3, which is currently being evaluated in a global Phase 3 clinical trial, TIVO-1, in patients with renal cell cancer (RCC).

“Predictive biomarkers and companion diagnostics are likely to play an important role in the future success of targeted oncology therapeutics. We believe that, with our proprietary bioinformatics tools and Human Response Platform™ technology, AVEO is at the forefront of predictive biomarker discovery.”

The first of these patents covers a diagnostic test based on a 42-gene expression signature in tumor samples. The second patent covers a diagnostic test based on measurement of the abundance of a single protein, known as CD68, in tumor samples. Both tests can be performed using fresh or preserved tumor biopsy material. AVEO's successful use of its genetically engineered mouse models to discover these human-relevant biomarkers demonstrates the potential of AVEO's preclinical tumor models in human response prediction.

"We believe these tests reflect different aspects of the same underlying tumor biology and have potential for development as companion diagnostics in a broad range of tumor types. Ongoing research involving these tests will help AVEO make informed decisions as we explore the use of these biomarkers in our clinical programs," commented Tuan Ha-Ngoc, president and chief executive officer of AVEO Pharmaceuticals. "Predictive biomarkers and companion diagnostics are likely to play an important role in the future success of targeted oncology therapeutics. We believe that, with our proprietary bioinformatics tools and Human Response Platform™ technology, AVEO is at the forefront of predictive biomarker discovery."