Clinical-stage biotechnology company Cleveland BioLabs announced that BioLab 612 LLC, its wholly owned Russian subsidiary, has entered into a three-year contract with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation valued at 149 million rubles, or about $4.6 million. The contract funds will be used to support the clinical development of Entolimod (CBLB502) to assess its safety and efficacy in treating colorectal cancer. The requirements of the contract stipulate that the contractor, BioLab 612, must attract matching funds to the project, and it is anticipated that Cleveland BioLabs will primarily satisfy this requirement through contributing certain patents issued by the Eurasian Patent Organization of BioLab 612.

It has been recently discovered that Entolimod induces a strong stimulation of naturally occurring immune mechanisms localized in specific tissues, including the liver, that express high levels of the drug’s target receptor. It has been shown in preclinical studies with animal models that this immune response occurs immediately and is sufficiently robust to reduce the incidence of liver metastasis from colon cancer and other certain kinds of cancer, as well as to extend survival of the treated animals. These observations indicate that Entolimod may be applicable for adjuvant treatment of tumors, like colon cancer, that show a tendency to metastasize to the liver.

Cleveland BioLabs has secured around $100 million in non-dilutive grant and contract awards from the U.S. and foreign governments over the last five years. The company welcomes this further funding from a government agency for the development of its pipeline.

For more information about Cleveland BioLabs, visit www.cbiolabs.com

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