Axcentua Pharmaceuticals first clinical trial with AXP107-11 intitated at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge

Axcentua Pharmaceuticals AB today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the clinical trial AXP-CT-001 (www.clinicaltrials.gov). The study is designed as a phase Ib/IIa study for the treatment of pancreatic cancer with AXP107-11 in combination with gemcitabine. In the phase Ib part of the study, the safety and the maximum tolerated dose will be determined using a classical dose escalation scheme, continuing directly into the phase IIa part to determine the efficacy of this new therapy.

“We are very excited to initiate this first clinical study with AXP107-11 as we strongly believe in the multi-targeted properties of AXP107-11 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer” says CEO Stefan Rehnmark.

About AXP107-11

AXP107-11 was discovered in a screen for new crystalline forms of a well known natural compound with improved pharmaceutical properties. AXP107-11 is an orally active, non-toxic, multi-targeted chemosensitizer that sensitizes human pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine and reduces metastasis in animal models of cancer. These properties of AXP107-11 make the compound a promising new agent for the treatment of genetically complex and heterogenous solid tumors such as pancreatic cancer.

About Axcentua

Axcentua Pharmaceuticals is a privately held early clinical development stage pharmaceutical company committed to the generation of investigational new drugs for diseases with high unmet medical need. The company was founded in 2007 by Dr. Anders Berkenstam, Dr. Stefan Rehnmark and Dr. Michael-Robin Witt. Axcentua is pioneering a crystal re-engineering strategy of natural compounds as a novel approach in drug development. Candidate drugs can be developed faster, with less risk and at a fraction of the cost as compared to traditional drug development.

Natural compounds have a proven track record as drugs and represent a largely untapped resource of new drug development candidates. However, natural compounds may have unfavorable drug-like properties and intellectual property issues have hindered development of these compounds into successful drugs. By improving the drug-like qualities and obtaining IP on novel forms, Axcentua’s crystal re-engineering strategy opens up new opportunities to explore and develop this rich source of small molecule compounds into drugs with clear pharmaceutical benefits.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Stefan Rehnmark, CEO

+46 8 524 88 620

+46 73 6478842

stefan.rehnmark@axcentua.com

www.axcentua.com