Newswise — Woburn, MA, December 6, 2013 – Jasco Pharmaceuticals, LLC announced that preclinical data on its PIM inhibitor program would be presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition to be held on December 7-10 in New Orleans, LA.

The poster, entitled “Overcoming CD28-Mediated Multi-Drug Resistance With a Novel PIM2 Inhibitor,” will be presented on Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at Exhibit Hall G, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, abstract 1931. The results will include data generated by the lab of Dr. Kelvin Lee of the Department of Immunology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in Buffalo, NY, in collaboration with Jasco and with the Center for Drug Development at RPCI.

About PIM Kinases

PIM kinases are an exciting class of serine/threonine protein kinases with a structurally unique ATP binding pocket incorporated in all three isoforms (PIM1, PIM2, and PIM3). The PIM kinases are key components of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway and regulate cancer cell survival, providing an important set of therapeutic targets for the treatment of various hematological malignancies and solid tumors. Jasco Pharmaceuticals has developed structurally novel, potent, small-molecule pan-PIM inhibitors with skewed potency towards PIM2. Jasco’s preclinical candidate JP_11646 has demonstrated selective potency for multiple myeloma cell lines with the t(14;16) MAF translocation, a known marker for poor prognosis and proven efficacious in the corresponding xenograft mouse models. JP_11646 has been selected for GLP/Tox studies and is expected to enter Phase I clinical trials in 2014.

About Jasco Pharmaceuticals

Jasco Pharmaceuticals, LLC is a privately held, pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on precision drug discovery with the goal of delivering superior outcomes for high-risk patients. Jasco was founded with a core expertise in the purposeful integration of technology platforms, databases, capabilities and know-how all along the drug discovery and development pathway. The company’s vision is to effectively develop drug candidates that provide vitally needed therapy options for patients with unmet clinical needs.

For more information about Jasco Pharmaceuticals, please visit www.jascopharma.com or call Carmen M. Baldino, Ph.D., at 339-227-6822 Ext. 12.

About Roswell Park Cancer Institute

The mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1898, RPCI is one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email [email protected]. Follow Roswell Park on Facebook and Twitter.

About Professor Kelvin Lee’s Research

Kelvin Lee, MD, is an internationally recognized leader in research on multiple myeloma and dendritic cell biology who joined the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in October 2006. His work focuses on both basic and clinical research aspects of immunology and hematological oncology. His laboratory has a longstanding interest in the role of CD28 in immune responses and multiple myeloma biology, and published in Blood in 2007 one of the first characterizations of CD28’s pro-survival function in multiple myeloma. Since that time he has continued to characterize the role of CD28 in myeloma cell survival and resistance to chemotherapy.

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2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting