TRONDHEIM, Norway, November 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Financing will be used to further advance preclinical development of APIM Therapeutics' anti-cancer lead compound, ATX-101, in selected tumor indications including blood cancer and solid tumors.

APIM Therapeutics, an early stage therapeutic company based on ground breaking research by Prof. M. Otterlei and co-workers (National Institute of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway), is pursuing novel synthetic lethal drug approaches to selective cancer cell elimination using proprietary peptides in combination with a wide range of chemotherapeutic drugs currently used in the clinic. The company specifically focuses on peptide drugs targeting PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen), an emerging cancer drug target implicated in the regulation of cellular responses to DNA damage and stress. The company's lead drug candidate, ATX-101, has shown promising anti-cancer activity in several blood and solid tumor cancer models in preclinical assays in vitro and in vivo and is currently being developed as a novel selective anti-cancer treatment targeting DNA repair and cell cycle control in tumor cells.

The follow-up investment is provided by Birk Venture and Ro Invest, two early stage investment companies located in Oslo, Norway, and Sarsia Seed, a seed stage investor that has already led two investment transactions in APIM Therapeutics.

Konstantinos Alevizopoulos, CEO of APIM Therapeutics:" We are delighted to have secured this additional funding in APIM Therapeutics which will allow for the further development of our novel therapeutic concept towards first-in-man clinical trials".

Hans Ivar Robinson, Managing Director at Birk Ventures:"APIM Therapeutics offers a unique synthetic lethal approach that can improve the therapeutic window of several chemotherapeutic agents currently used in the clinic. This approach is expected to provide novel therapeutic options for the benefit of cancer patients".

Farzaad Abdi-Dezfuli, Partner at Sarsia Seed: "Sarsia Seed is very pleased to welcome Birk Ventures and Ro Invest onboard as strategic co-investment partners. Their equal enthusiasm for the company and its exceptional offering, further consolidates our belief in APIM Therapeutics.

For further information, please contact:
APIM Therapeutics AS
Konstantinos Alevizopoulos, CEO
Tel: +41-78-752-7002
http://www.apimtherapeutics.com 

Additional Web Sites

Birk Ventures AS: http://www.birkventure.no
Sarsia Seed AS: http://www.sarsiaseed.com
Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology: http://www.ntnu.no

SOURCE APIM Therapeutics