ZYBRESTAT(TM) (CA4P) Improves Overall Survival In A Phase 2/3 Trial (FACT Study) Of Patients With Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer (ATC)

Median Overall Survival of Patients Receiving ZYBRESTAT Plus Chemotherapy was 5.1 Months, Compared With 4.1 Months for Patients Receiving Chemotherapy Alone

Patients Alive at One-Year More Than Doubled With ZYBRESTAT Plus Chemotherapy Compared With Chemotherapy Alone (23% Vs. 9%)

Almost Half of Patients Treated With ZYBRESTAT Plus Chemotherapy (48%) Were Alive at Six Months, Compared With 37% Treated With Chemotherapy Alone

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 12, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OXiGENE, (Nasdaq:OXGN), a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced that positive results from a randomized, controlled, Phase 2/3 study of ZYBRESTAT (fosbretabulin, CA4P) were presented today at the 14th International Thyroid Congress in Paris, France by Rossella Elisei, M.D., of the University of Pisa. In this 80-patient study, the median overall survival (OS) time was 5.1 months for patients who received ZYBRESTAT and chemotherapy when compared with a median survival time of 4.1 months for patients receiving chemotherapy alone (Hazard Ratio 0.71), which represents a 29% reduction in the risk of dying for patients receiving ZYBRESTAT and chemotherapy.  Of patients treated with ZYBRESTAT and chemotherapy, 48% were alive at six months, compared with 37% percent of patients treated with the control arm regimen. At one year, 23% of patients treated with ZYBRESTAT and chemotherapy were alive compared to 9% of patients treated with chemotherapy alone.  The most common side effects reported with ZYBRESTAT and chemotherapy were neutropenia, transient hypertension and tumor pain.

 "The results of this study show a clearly demonstrated survival benefit with only transient, manageable side effects," said Michael Tuttle, M.D., Endocrinologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who specializes in caring for patients with advanced thyroid cancer. "ZYBRESTAT plus chemotherapy has demonstrated the first significant increase in overall survival without serious side effects in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer, which should make this an attractive therapeutic intervention for patients for whom there are no other approved effective therapies."