AVN944 Biomarkers Correlate with Clinical Effects and Disease Stabilization in Adult AML Patients

  
    
  
  
    
      Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVRX), today announced preliminary 
      results from its ongoing AVN944 Phase I trial in adult Acute Myelogenous 
      Leukemia (AML) patients at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 
      Annual Meeting.
    
    
      The research shows that AVN944 is well tolerated in refractory AML 
      patients, with drug exposure increasing with higher dose levels. AVN944 
      biomarkers show a dose-dependent increase in activity including: binding 
      to the target enzyme IMPDH, depletion of GTP pools in blast cells, and 
      gene expression markers correlating to cell cycle blocks, GTP level and 
      apoptosis, illustrating that biomarkers can be used to monitor exposure 
      in patients as dose levels increase.
    
    
      Utilizing the AvalonRx® 
      platform, a predictive algorithm was developed and the preliminary data 
      discriminates AVN944’s effect on patients with 
      regard to disease stabilization or progression. This biomarker based 
      patient stratification strategy could provide a valuable tool for 
      enrichment of patients more likely to benefit from AVN944 therapy in 
      future studies.
    
    
      “Reducing the risk of clinical trials failures 
      has been a very elusive goal in the development of cancer therapeutics,” 
      stated Rebecca B. Klisovic, M.D., Assistant Professor of Hematology and 
      Oncology at The Ohio State University. “These 
      preliminary results are very exciting and Avalon’s 
      comprehensive biomarker driven approach, if confirmed in a larger study, 
      would go a long way toward achieving this goal.”
    
    
      About Avalon Pharmaceuticals
    
    
      Avalon is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, 
      development and commercialization of first-in-class cancer therapeutics. 
      Avalon’s lead product candidate, AVN944, an 
      IMPDH inhibitor, is in Phase II clinical development. Avalon also has 
      preclinical programs to develop inhibitors of the Beta-catenin and 
      Aurora/Centrosome pathways, discovery programs for inhibitors of the 
      Survivin and Myc pathways and partnerships with Merck, MedImmune, 
      ChemDiv, Medarex, and Novartis. AvalonRx® 
      is the company’s proprietary platform which is 
      based on large-scale biomarker identification and monitoring, used to 
      discover and develop therapeutics for pathways that have historically 
      been characterized as "undruggable." Avalon is headquartered in 
      Germantown, MD.
    
    
      Safe Harbor Statement
    
    
      This announcement contains, in addition to historical information, 
      certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. 
      Such statements reflect the current views of Avalon management and are 
      based on certain assumptions. Actual results could differ materially 
      from those currently anticipated as a result of a number of factors, 
      risks and uncertainties, including those specified under the “Risk 
      Factors” section of our 2006 Annual Report on 
      Form 10-K and updates contained in subsequent filings we make with the 
      Securities and Exchange Commission.