Pieris Presents Preclinical Data for PRS-110 c-Met Antagonist Anticalin® at the AACR Annual Meeting

Chicago, Illinois (ots) -

--Results Support Differentiating Drug-like Features for Targeted
Anti-cancer Drug--

Pieris AG announced today the presentation of a range of in vitro
and in vivo preclinical data for the company's proprietary c-Met
antagonist program, PRS-110, at the American Association for Cancer
Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, further establishing the compound as
a differentiated next generation therapeutic protein. c-Met is a
cellular receptor that plays a key role in cancer cell growth and
metastasis in multiple tumor types. The presentation, entitled
"Exploiting the Anticalin therapeutic protein platform for the
treatment of c-Met ligand-independent and dependent tumors -
discovery and characterization of a highly specific and potent c-Met
antagonist with drug-like properties" was made on Tuesday, April 3 in
Chicago.

"When targeting the c-Met pathway, we believe there are two
features in particular that will lead to a best-in-class approach:
pure antagonism of the c-Met receptor and the ability to inhibit both
ligand-dependent and ligand-independent c-Met activation," said
Laurent Audoly, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Pieris. "The
presented data show that PRS-110 can do this, further complementing
our existing data on the favorable drug-like properties of this
molecule, including, but not limited to, manufacturability."

The data presented at the AACR included multiple lines of evidence
both in cell-based assays and xenograft tumor models. Due to its
monovalent target engagement, in contrast to bivalent antibody-based
approaches, PRS-110 is a pure antagonist. Administration of PRS-110
produced significant, dose-dependent tumor growth inhibition,
demonstrating both ligand-dependent (human glioblastoma xenograft
model) and ligand-independent (human renal cell carcinoma xenograft
model) activity. Based on preclinical immunogenicity screens,
PRS-110 is predicted to have a low risk of immunogenicity in humans,
in keeping with the company's overall experience of a high level of
safety for Anticalins. Furthermore, the PRS-110 drug candidate
displays robust developability criteria and straightforward
manufacturability in E. Coli in the high gram-per-liter range,
supporting a cost of goods advantage for Anticalins versus other drug
platforms.

Anticalins are therapeutic proteins derived from human lipocalins,
rationally engineered to solve for the pharmacological and
pharmaceutical limitations of both protein and non-protein based drug
platforms.

--more--

About Pieris

Pieris AG is an independent, clinical-staged biotechnology company
advancing its proprietary Anticalin® technology to create
differentiated drugs that are safer and more effective than
conventional approaches. Exclusive to Pieris, Anticalin-based drugs
promise to address high-unmet medical needs and expand the
therapeutic potential of current targeted approaches. Pieris'
pipeline ranges from its lead compound, PRS-050 (anti-VEGF, oncology)
that recently completed a Phase I clinical trial, to multiple
Anticalins in preclinical development across a range of therapeutic
areas. The company has three active discovery and development
collaborations: Daiichi Sankyo, the Sanofi Group and Allergan.
Privately held, Pieris has been funded by premier
biotechnology-focused venture capital, including lead investors
OrbiMed Advisors and Global Life Science Ventures. For more
information, please visit: www.pieris-ag.com.

--END--

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Laurent Audoly,
CSO Pieris AG
or
Gretchen Schweitzer
+49 172 861 8540
media@pieris-ag.com

Additional information is available at www.pieris-ag.com.

Anticalin®, Anticalins® are registered trademarks of Pieris AG.