Yale Cancer Center to Present on the Synergistic Relationship Between Intravenously-Administered SB 11285, Spring Bank’s STING Agonist Development Compound, and Radiation Therapy in Cancer at the 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting

HOPKINTON, Mass., Sept. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of viral infections, inflammatory diseases and certain cancers, today announced that Dr. Thomas Hayman, MD, Ph.D., a resident in the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale Cancer Center, will present at the 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting. Dr. Hayman will discuss the results from the study of activating the STimulator of INterferon Genes (STING) pathway using SB 11285, Spring Bank’s intravenously (IV)-administered STING agonist development compound, in combination with radiation therapy.

The results demonstrated that the addition of IV SB 11285 to radiation therapy enhanced effectiveness in killing tumors vs. radiation alone in pre-clinical models. The addition of IV SB 11285 showed a synergistic effect in shrinking tumors when combined with radiation in xenograft models of head and neck tumors in mice. Previous data have shown that SB 11285 is effective in tumor growth inhibition in multiple pre-clinical models of cancer. Spring Bank recently announced that its Investigational New Drug application for a Phase 1 trial of IV SB 11285 was cleared by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical testing, and Spring Bank anticipates that a Phase 1 trial for IV SB 11285 will begin shortly.

“The results from our studies presented at the 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting provide the molecular details of the benefits to combining radiation and STING agonists and determining the mechanism of why they work well together,” said Dr. Thomas Hayman of Yale Cancer Center.

The presentation, Whole Genome CRISPR- Cas9 Screen Identifies STING as a Determinant of Intrinsic Radiosensitivity in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, will be delivered by Dr. Hayman (presentation 159) on Tuesday September 17, 2019 at the 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Hayman’s presentation is part of the SS 27 - Biology 6 - Experimental Therapeutics and Target Discovery workshop.

“The exciting results from this research conducted at Yale Cancer Center highlight a new opportunity for the clinical expansion of SB 11285 and could present additional treatment options for patients,” said Kevin Leach, Ph.D., Spring Bank’s Vice President, Nonclinical & Translational Research. “We will leverage the findings from this research in our ongoing clinical development plan for IV SB 11285 monotherapy as well as in combination with other therapies in multiple tumor types.”

About Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals

Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of a novel class of therapeutics using its proprietary small molecule nucleotide platform. The company designs its compounds to selectively target and modulate the activity of specific proteins implicated in various disease states. The company’s lead product candidate, inarigivir, is being developed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). Inarigivir is designed to activate within hepatic cells retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 (RIG-I), which has been shown to inhibit HBV viral replication and induce the intracellular interferon signaling pathways for antiviral defense. The company is also developing its lead STING agonist product candidate, SB 11285, an immunotherapeutic agent for the treatment of selected cancers. For more information, please visit .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, about Spring Bank’s future expectations, plans and prospects. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “possible,” “hope,” “likelihood” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to: Spring Bank’s ability to successfully demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its product candidates; any delay of any current or planned non-clinical or clinical trials or the development of any product candidate; whether Spring Bank’s product candidates will advance through the clinical trial process on a timely basis, or at all; whether Spring Bank’s cash resources will be sufficient to fund its continuing operations for the periods and/or trials anticipated; whether the results of such trials will warrant submission for approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether Spring Bank’s product candidates will receive approval from regulatory agencies on a timely basis or at all; whether, if product candidates obtain approval, they will be successfully distributed and marketed; and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of Spring Bank’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 11, 2019 and in other filings Spring Bank makes with the SEC from time to time.

In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Spring Bank’s views as of the date hereof. Spring Bank anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Spring Bank’s views to change. However, while Spring Bank may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Spring Bank specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Spring Bank’s views as of any date after the date hereof.

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Source: Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc.