Point Therapeutics Provides Preliminary Results from Phase 2 Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Study

  
    
  
  
    
      Point Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: POTP) today provided preliminary 
      results from the Company’s open-label Phase 2 
      trial of talabostat plus gemcitabine in patients with metastatic 
      pancreatic cancer (Stage IV) who have not received prior chemotherapy.
    
    
      Of the 21 evaluable patients who entered the study at least six months 
      ago, ten (48%) have survived more than six months. In addition, 31 
      patients are currently evaluable for tumor response. To date, three 
      patients (9.7%) have demonstrated a clinical response to treatment, 
      including one complete response and two partial responses. One patient 
      with metastatic disease to the liver experienced a complete response to 
      treatment—defined as the complete 
      disappearance of tumor. Thus far, no unexpected toxicities have been 
      seen in the trial that would prevent the Company from continuing to 
      study talabostat in combination with gemcitabine.
    
    
      The Phase 2 study is a single-arm, two-stage study in up to 60 evaluable 
      patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The primary clinical 
      endpoint is six-month survival. Secondary study endpoints include 
      overall survival, progression-free survival, quality of life, and 
      performance status. The Phase 2 study protocol called for an interim 
      assessment before advancing the study to completion. Based on the 
      preliminary six-month survival results and the responses seen to date, 
      the Company has decided to advance the study to completion. Final 
      results from the study are expected mid-year 2007.
    
    
      "Metastatic pancreatic cancer represents a significant unmet medical 
      need as there are limited treatment options available for patients. I am 
      pleased with the activity seen to date in this trial, especially with an 
      oral agent, and look forward to evaluating further data as it becomes 
      available," said Dr. Yagnesh Oza, MD, Medical Director at the Center for 
      Comprehensive Cancer Care in Mt. Vernon, IL and an investigator in the 
      study.
    
    
      “It’s encouraging to 
      see Point’s preclinical work potentially 
      translating into clinical benefits for patients,” 
      said Dr. George Demetri, a member of Point's Clinical Advisory Board and 
      Director of the Ludwig Center at Dana-Farber/Harvard. “Point 
      has demonstrated preclinically that talabostat is a potent inhibitor of 
      fibroblast activation protein (FAP), an enzyme that is highly expressed 
      in pancreatic cancer and is believed to promote tumor growth. In 
      addition, preclinical work combining talabostat with gemcitabine has 
      also demonstrated encouraging results. I believe these factors make 
      pancreatic cancer a promising target for the study of talabostat,” 
      concluded Dr. Demetri.
    
    
      About Pancreatic Cancer:
    
    
      According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer is the 
      fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. In 2006 
      alone, 33,730 new cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed and 32,300 
      people died of the disease. The main reason for the poor prognosis of 
      pancreatic cancer is that patients usually have no symptoms until the 
      cancer has spread to other organs, and, as a result, very few of these 
      cancers are found early. Patients with Stage IV disease have the most 
      advanced form of pancreatic cancer, which includes metastatic disease to 
      distant organ(s).
    
    
      About Point Therapeutics, Inc.:
    
    
      Point is a Boston-based biopharmaceutical company which is currently 
      studying its lead product candidate, talabostat, in two Phase 3 double 
      blind placebo-controlled trials in non-small cell lung cancer and in a 
      Phase 2 trial in combination with gemcitabine in metastatic pancreatic 
      cancer. Point has also studied talabostat in several Phase 2 trials, 
      including as a single-agent in metastatic melanoma, in combination with 
      cisplatin in metastatic melanoma and in combination with rituximab in 
      advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
    
    
      Certain statements contained herein are not strictly historical and 
      are "forward looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities 
      Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, without 
      limitation, statements with respect to the company’s 
      clinical development programs and the timing of initiation and 
      completion of its clinical trials. Forward-looking statements are 
      statements that are not historical facts, and can be identified by, 
      among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as 
      "believes," "feels," "expects," "may," "will," "projects," "should," 
      "seeks," "plans," "schedules to," "anticipates" or "intends" or the 
      negative of those terms, or other variations of those terms of 
      comparable language, or by discussions of strategy or intentions. A 
      number of important factors could cause actual results to differ 
      materially from those projected or suggested in the forward looking 
      statement, including the risk factors described in Point’s 
      quarterly report on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange 
      Commission on November 9, 2006, and from time to time in Point’s 
      other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.