Sorrento Therapeutics Receives Frost & Sullivan's Prestigious 2013 Global Investment Opportunity Award in the Oncology Market

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the oncology market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: SRNE); (Sorrento) with the 2013 Global Frost & Sullivan Investment Opportunity Award. In a pharmaceutical industry that is crowded with early stage competitors aiming to develop monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or other novel therapeutics in oncology, Sorrento believes it has gained an edge through a combination of factors, including its diverse mAb library, experienced management team, and superior ability to select and rapidly develop promising drug targets, such as fully human anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1 mAbs.

One of Sorrento's key differentiators is its robust intellectual property (IP). Its extensive patent portfolio, which positions it to develop next-generation targeted therapeutics and nanomedicines, includes issued patents and filed patent applications for its lead product candidate Cynviloq™, G-MAB^® library, its human G-MAB^®-derived mAbs and TOCOSOL®-PAC, as well as groundbreaking platform technologies such as antibody formulated drug conjugates (AfDC) and recombinant intravenous immunoglobulin (rIVIG). Sorrento, through its pending acquisition of IGDRASOL, Inc. has obtained the exclusive marketing and distribution rights to Cynviloq™ in the United States and the 27 EU member countries. Cynviloq™ is patent protected worldwide by Samyang Biopharmaceutical Corporation, a South Korean corporation, until 2028, preventing competitors from using similar processes to create competitive therapeutics.

Cynviloq™ has pharmacokinetic (PK) properties amenable to personalized dosing, allowing for an improved therapeutic index when compared to industry leader Abraxane^®, which is marketed by Celgene Corporation. Sorrento plans to exploit Cynviloq™ potential bioequivalence (BE) to Abraxane^® to get Cynviloq™ to the market quickly and at minimal cost using the FDA 505(b)(2) BE application pathway that allows companies to obtain FDA approval of new drug applications (NDAs) for reformulations of drugs with the same active ingredient.

"Sorrento is unique in its ability to potentially have an approved oncology product within the next few years using an abbreviated 505(b)(2) BE pathway at a fraction of the cost of what is spent by traditional drug development companies," noted Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Justin Collishaw. "Our independent analysis confirms that other competitors lack similar near-term approvable therapies, which may be able to generate revenues in the next three to four years."

Sorrento, through its IGDRASOL acquisition, also secured EU distribution rights, which give Sorrento the flexibility to form alliances with multinational companies seeking late-stage drug products to fill in gaps in their pipeline. In addition, Sorrento is moving forward in the field of true personalized medicine with the development of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM), which will complement and expand the Cynviloq™ franchise in the market.

Sorrento's next strength lies in its outstanding management team that boasts an impressive track record of long-term vision and timely execution. Such an industry-leading management team will help Sorrento's valuable products reach their full potential.

"Partnership with large pharma could accelerate Sorrento's development program and broaden its portfolio into inflammation and infectious diseases," noted Collishaw. "As a publicly traded company, Sorrento has the added advantage of access to the public investment market."

Sorrento is further consolidating its market position by targeting therapeutic areas with an unmet need. The company is selecting antibody candidates that have strong market potential, such as

PD-L1, PD-1, as well as G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) antibodies for immunotherapy in oncology. It is also improving upon already approved therapies through its proprietary AfDC process. This enables Sorrento to capitalize on the familiarity and success of predecessors, such as Herceptin^® or Erbitux^®, while competitors are developing therapies from scratch, thus creating greater difficulty in establishing familiarity.

Overall, Sorrento's strength of IP, expert management team, funding history, market growth and positioning, expansion strategy, and product differentiation capabilities make it a worthy recipient of the 2013 Frost & Sullivan Global Investment Opportunity Award.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. is a publicly-traded, development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, discovery, development and commercialization of novel and proprietary therapeutics for the treatment of a variety of disease conditions, including cancer, inflammation, and infectious diseases. Sorrento's objective is to develop and commercialize its late-stage, oncolytic drug candidate – Cynviloq™ – for multiple cancer indications, to identify drug development candidates derived from its proprietary human antibody libraries and, either independently or through partnerships, advance selected targets into preclinical or clinical development. Sorrento intends to select several lead product candidates to progress into preclinical development activities in 2013, including human anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that have demonstrated strong immunomodulatory activity in vitro comparable to competitor mAbs currently in clinical development as well as significant anti-cancer activity in a tumor mouse model.

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