CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Aura Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy cancer cells using viral nanoparticle conjugates, announced today that Elisabet de los Pinos, founder and CEO, will present a company overview at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2016 Annual Meeting (OIS@AAO) in Chicago.

The presentation will take place during the Company Showcase on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at 11 a.m. EST.

 

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells. Its lead program in ocular melanoma, developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been granted orphan drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.

Media Contact

Ann Stanesa, 617-230-0347
Ten Bridge Communications
ann@tenbridgecommunications.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Aura Biosciences announced today that it will participate in the Boston Miles for Melanoma 5K Run/Walk, in support of the Melanoma Research Foundation’s (MRF) research, advocacy and education efforts. Aura has partnered with CURE OM, the Community United for Research and Education of Ocular Melanoma, to form a joint team for this event.

“Participating in this weekend’s Miles for Melanoma event here in Boston is a terrific opportunity for Aura to come together with the community to raise awareness for ocular melanoma and the Melanoma Research Foundation,” said Elisabet de los Pinos, CEO of Aura Biosciences. “We’re looking forward to walking alongside CURE OM’s co-founder and director, Sara Selig, and other fellow supporters of melanoma education and research.”

The Boston Miles for Melanoma Run/Walk will begin at 8:30 a.m. on July 9 in Brighton, Mass. This is the second-annual Miles for Melanoma 5K and is one of many events that take place around the nation to support the MRF. The MRF is a nonprofit and the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma.

 

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells. Its lead program in ocular melanoma, developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aura Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy cancer cells using viral nanoparticle conjugates, announced today that Elisabet de los Pinos, founder and CEO, will present a company overview at the 15th Annual Needham Healthcare Conference in New York, N.Y.

The presentation will take place on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at 2:40 p.m. EDT.

 

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells. Its lead program in ocular melanoma, developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been granted orphan drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.

Media Contact

Ann Stanesa, 617-230-0347
Ten Bridge Communications
ann@tenbridgecommunications.com

Investor Contact

Mike Wyzga, Chief Financial Officer
Aura Biosciences
mswyzga@verizon.net

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aura Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy cancer cells, announced today that it has formed a Clinical Advisory Board in Ocular Oncology and bolstered its clinical development team as it prepares to initiate clinical testing of its lead program in Ocular (uveal) Melanoma.

Carol Shields, MD, co-Director of the Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia; Evangelos Gragoudas, MD, Director of Retina Service at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of Harvard University in Boston; and Arun D. Singh, Director of the Department of Ophthalmic Oncology in the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, will make up the Clinical Advisory Board (CAB), which will help guide the clinical development of AU-011, Aura’s lead program in Ocular Melanoma. Drs. Shields, Gragoudas and Singh are recognized world leaders in the early diagnosis and clinical care of people with Ocular Melanoma.

In addition to forming its CAB, Aura has appointed Denis O’Shaughnessy, PhD, to the position of Vice President of Clinical Development. Dr. O’Shaughnessy has led the clinical development of multiple ophthalmology products over the past two decades in roles at Hoffman-LaRoche, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, OPKO Health, and Oraya Therapeutics.

“We are pleased to have the support and guidance of three of the world’s experts as we prepare to initiate clinical testing of the first therapy ever developed for the primary treatment of Ocular Melanoma in 2016,” said Elisabet de los Pinos, founder and CEO of Aura Biosciences. “The direction of our CAB and expertise of our expanding clinical team will be invaluable to Aura as we enter this critical moment in our growth as a company.”

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells. Its lead program in ocular melanoma, developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been granted orphan drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.

Contacts

Aura Biosciences
Dan Quinn, 781-475-7974
Ten Bridge Communications
dan@tenbridgecommunications.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aura Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy cancer cells, announced today the publication of a new paper demonstrating how its synthetic Viral-like Particles (VLP) modeled on the human papillomavirus (HPV) are able to bind uniquely to cancer cells while leaving healthy surrounding tissue unharmed.

The paper, The Molecular Determinants of Papillomavirus Capsid Binding to Tumor Cells, was published online in the International Journal of Cancer by authors Dr. Rhonda C. Kines of Aura, and Drs. Douglas R. Lowy, John T. Schiller and colleagues of the National Cancer Institute. Building on previous work that demonstrated the mechanism of HPV infection, the authors investigated the molecular basis for the discovery that HPVs selectively bind a wide range of solid tumors in vitro and in vivo. They determined that tumor cells differ from healthy cells in the over-expression and modifications of heparan sulfate proteoglycans on their membrane as well as on the extracellular matrix, which provides a unique binding site for HPV virions and for engineered VLPs. They demonstrated that healthy intact tissue is resistant to this kind of binding, underscoring the potential utility of these types of synthetic VLPs for selectively delivering diagnostic agents and/or cytotoxic drugs to tumor cells for the development of a novel class of targeted therapies.

“This paper is an important step forward in our understanding of why our HPV-modeled Viral-like Particles represent such a promising advance in the selective targeting of tumor cells,” said Elisabet de los Pinos, founder and CEO of Aura Biosciences. “As we prepare for clinical testing of our lead program in ocular melanoma, we are building on a strong foundation of preclinical evidence to support the potential application of our approach in a wide array of cancers, including bladder, prostate, and head and neck cancers.”

Aura’s lead product, AU-011, has the potential to be the first therapy ever developed for the primary treatment of ocular (uveal) melanoma, the most common primary cancer of the eye. AU-011 utilizes an HPV VLP to deliver a cell-killing laser-activated molecule selectively to cancer cells in the eye after a simple intra-vitreal injection. In vivo results in a rabbit model presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in 2015 demonstrated complete tumor necrosis following three administrations as confirmed by histopathology, while sparing the adjacent retina.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells. Its lead program in ocular melanoma, developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been granted orphan drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.

Contacts

Aura Biosciences
Dan Quinn, 781-475-7974
Ten Bridge Communications
dan@tenbridgecommunications.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aura Biosciences, a biotech company developing highly tumor-targeted breakthrough therapies for rare cancers, has been granted Orphan Disease Designation by the FDA for its drug AU-011 for the treatment of Uveal Melanoma. The FDA’s Orphan Drug Designation program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics, which demonstrate promise for the diagnosis and/or treatment of rare diseases or conditions in the US. In addition, the first oral presentation of Aura Biosciences’ pre-clinical research, ‘Evaluating the in vivo efficacy of a first-in-class drug for the treatment of primary uveal melanoma’, was recently delivered by McGill University Health Centre researchers at the ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) Annual Meeting.

“There are currently no approved drug therapies for the treatment of uveal melanoma which is a rare but life threatening disease. We are thrilled to receive this Orphan Drug Designation that, together with the positive preclinical data, is enabling us to move this drug one step closer to the clinic,” said Elisabet de los Pinos, founder and CEO of Aura Biosciences.

Uveal Melanoma, also referred to as Ocular Melanoma (OM), is an aggressive form of cancer that develops in the uvea, or uveal tract, of the eye. The primary tumor is diagnosed when it is still in the eye but has no targeted therapies available and is usually treated with an invasive radioactive plaque placed against the exterior of the eye near the tumor. This treatment requires multiple surgeries and can lead to cataracts, retinopathy and loss of vision. The alternative is enucleation, a surgery to remove the eye.

“There is an unmet medical need in the rare cancer patient community with which we work to have access to treatments that target the primary tumor and spare vision, forgoing risky and invasive surgical intervention. Aura’s novel approach has the potential to dramatically improve the outcomes, and hope, for patients with uveal melanoma,“ said Grant Allen, Co-founder and Chairman of the Ocular Melanoma Foundation. “The Orphan Drug Designation for AU-011 is a huge step forward, enabling Aura to potentially bring this drug to patients in an expedited manner.”

“The Melanoma Research Foundation’s CURE OM initiative leads the field in OM research support. We appreciate partners who are also working to advance the OM field and applaud efforts to develop new treatments with the goal of saving lives. Today’s news about a treatment that could potentially eliminate OM tumors early in the eye brings hope for improved outcomes for patients,” said Sara Selig, MD, CURE OM Co-Founder and Director, Melanoma Research Foundation.

AU-011 consists of Viral-like Nanoparticles that demonstrate highly selective targeting of solid tumors while leaving normal epithelium untouched. Aura’s lead product incorporates its Viral-like Nanoparticle conjugated with a potent cell-killing laser-activated molecule that is delivered efficiently and selectively to cancerous cells, thereby reducing or eliminating the risk of non-specific activity and undesirable toxicity. The molecule is activated by a standard ophthalmologic laser and treatment will be administered in an outpatient visit. A video explaining how Aura’s technology is applied to Uveal Melanoma can be accessed at the Aura Biosciences website at aurabiosciences.com.

ARVO Presentation – Data on AU-011

In vivo research behind the ARVO oral presentation last week was conducted by Patrick T. Logan, Sultan Aldrees, Mohammed F. Qutub, Natalia Vila, Vasco Bravo-Filho, and Miguel N. Burnier at the Henry C Witelson Lab, Ocular Pathology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. In this study, the data showed that AU-011 is efficacious for treating uveal melanoma tumors in an orthotopic xenograft model.

Key findings of the research include:

• Complete response – following three administrations of AU-011 complete tumor eradication was observed by histopathology.
• The treatment appeared to be “retina sparing.”
• The observation of tumor necrosis is consistent with the mechanism of action of AU-011.

“In all of our years running this pre-clinical uveal melanoma animal model that we established more than a decade ago, this is the first time that we have seen such promising and encouraging results for the treatment of primary uveal melanoma. We are very excited about the positive impact this might have in uveal melanoma patients,” says Dr. Logan, who is managing the Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology pre-clinical unit.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is applying nanotechnology to the fight against cancer. Its novel Viral-like Nanoparticle technology, developed in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), harnesses the potential of viral evolution and tumor targeting for the treatment of cancer. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.

Contacts

Aura Biosciences
Matt Burke, 1-603-315-0618
mburke@aurabiosciences.com