AB Science announced that an abstract on the long-term survival of masitinib in ALS has been selected for a platform presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Spanish Society of Neurology

PRESS RELEASE

RESULTS FROM LONG-TERM SURVIVAL ANALYSIS OF MASITINIB IN AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS SELECTED FOR PLENARY SPEECH AS “STAR ORAL COMMUNICATION” AT THE SPANISH SOCIETY OF NEUROLOGY ANNUAL MEETING

Paris, 20 September 2021, 7pm CET

AB Science SA (Euronext - FR0010557264 - AB) today announced that an abstract on the long-term survival of masitinib in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been selected for a platform presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Spanish Society of Neurology, which will be held in virtual format between November 22 and December 2, 2021.

This abstract has received the honor of being designated as an extended ‘comunicación oral estelar’ (stellar oral communication). During this event, which will be held in Spanish, latest advances in the neurological field will be presented with more than 3,000 national and international experts expected to connect.

The presentation, titled ‘Long-term survival analysis of masitinib in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis’, will be delivered by Professor Josep Gamez M.D., Ph.D. (Director of the Peripheral Nervous System Laboratory and Head of the Neuromuscular Disorders Clinic at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain), a senior investigator from the masitinib phase 2/3 study (AB10015) in ALS [1].

Professor Gamez said, “Selection of this abstract for a ‘comunicación oral estelar’ at the Spanish Society of Neurology LXXIII Annual Meeting is an indication of the level of interest being generated by long-term survival data from masitinib study AB10015. We first suspected that masitinib may generate improved survival in certain subgroups through observation of patients enrolled in study AB10015 at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital's ALS Unit [2]. Findings from the overall study long-term survival analysis have confirmed this impression using a larger, multicenter patient cohort, which also revealed that there is a greater treatment effect when masitinib is initiated at an earlier stage of disease [3]”.

References

[1] Mora JS, Genge A, Chio A, et al. Masitinib as an add-on therapy to riluzole in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a randomized clinical trial. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2020;21(1-2):5-14. doi:10.1080/21678421.2019.1632346

[2] Gamez J. Vall d’Hebron participates in an international study to validate masitinib for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis treatment. VHIR. org News, 20 March, 2020. http://en.vhir.org/portal1/news-detail.asp?t=vall-dhebron-participatesin-an-international-study-to-validatemasitinib-for-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosistreatment&contentid=214927&s=actualitat

[3] Mora JS; Bradley WG; Chaverri D, et al. Long-term Survival Analysis of Masitinib in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Ther Adv Neurol Disord 2021, Vol. 14: 1–16 doi:10.1177/ 17562864211030365

About amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disorder that is characterized by progressive loss of the upper and lower motor neurons at the spinal or bulbar level. The disease belongs to a group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are characterized by the gradual degeneration and death of motor neurons. In ALS, both the upper motor neurons and the lower motor neurons degenerate or die, and stop sending messages to muscles.
The prevalence of ALS in western countries is fairly uniform at 6 per 100,000 persons, corresponding to around 30,000 cases in Europe and 20,000 in the USA.
The first drug treatment for ALS, riluzole (Rilutek), was approved in 1995. In Europe, there has been no new treatment approved since riluzole.

About masitinib
Masitinib is an orally administered tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets mast cells and macrophages, important cells for immunity, through inhibiting a limited number of kinases. Based on its unique mechanism of action, masitinib can be developed in a large number of conditions in oncology, in inflammatory diseases, and in certain diseases of the central nervous system. In oncology due to its immunotherapy effect, masitinib can have an effect on survival, alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Through its activity on mast cells and microglia and consequently the inhibition of the activation of the inflammatory process, masitinib can have an effect on the symptoms associated with some inflammatory and central nervous system diseases and the degeneration of these diseases.

About AB Science
Founded in 2001, AB Science is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and commercialization of protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs), a class of targeted proteins whose action are key in signaling pathways within cells. Our programs target only diseases with high unmet medical needs, often lethal with short term survival or rare or refractory to previous line of treatment.
AB Science has developed a proprietary portfolio of molecules and the Company’s lead compound, masitinib, has already been registered for veterinary medicine and is developed in human medicine in oncology, neurological diseases, inflammatory diseases and viral diseases. The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and listed on Euronext Paris (ticker: AB).

Further information is available on AB Science’s website:
www.ab-science.com.

Forward-looking Statements - AB Science
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These forward-looking statements can often be identified by the words "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate" or "plan" as well as other similar terms. While AB Science believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of AB Science and which may imply that results and actual events significantly differ from those expressed, induced or anticipated in the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include the uncertainties related to product development of the Company which may not be successful or to the marketing authorizations granted by competent authorities or, more generally, any factors that may affect marketing capacity of the products developed by AB Science, as well as those developed or identified in the public documents published by AB Science. AB Science disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update the forward-looking information and statements, subject to the applicable regulations, in particular articles 223-1 et seq. of the AMF General Regulations.

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AB Science
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• CP ALS SEN2021 ENG VF