CuraGen Corporation (CRGN)

[surf1944]

CuraGen to Present CR011-vcMMAE Data at ASCO
On Thursday May 28, 2009, 6:30 am EDT

- Update from Advanced Breast Cancer and Melanoma Studies

- Conference Call to be Hosted on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 11:00 am

BRANFORD, Conn., May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN - News) today announced plans for three data presentations from its ongoing clinical trials of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets GPNMB, in patients with advanced breast cancer and melanoma at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, Florida.

The titles, dates, and times of the presentations are as follows:

#9032 A phase I/II study of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting glycoprotein NMB in patients with advanced melanoma. Sunday, May 31, 2009, poster presentation from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM with a discussion session from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM.

#9063 Pharmacokinetics of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate, in a phase I study of patients with advanced melanoma. Monday, June 1, 2009, poster presentation from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM.

#1067 A phase I/II study of CR011-vcMMAE, an antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Monday, June 1, 2009, poster presentation from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM.

Abstracts are available and can be viewed on the ASCO Web site at www.asco.org.

Reprints of the presentations will be made available on CuraGen's website at http://www.curagen.com or can be requested by emailing [e-mail] following the presentations.

Conference Call Details and Dial-in Information


Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Time: 11:00 a.m. EDT
Dial-in: (877)-856-1956 (U.S. and Canada)
(719)-325-4771 (international)

Webcast: Access available at http://www.curagen.com

About CR011-vcMMAE

CR011-vcMMAE is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) being developed by CuraGen that consists of a fully-human monoclonal antibody, CR011, linked to a potent cell-killing drug, monomethyl-auristatin E (MMAE). The ADC technology, comprised of MMAE and a stable linker system for attaching it to CR011, was licensed from Seattle Genetics, Inc. The ADC is designed to be stable in the bloodstream. Following intravenous administration, CR011-vcMMAE targets and binds to GPNMB, a specific protein that is predominantly expressed on the surface of cancer cells, including melanoma, breast cancer and gliomas. Upon internalization into the targeted cell, CR011-vcMMAE is designed to release MMAE from CR011 to produce a cell-killing effect. CR011-vcMMAE is currently in two Phase II trials assessing the safety and efficacy in the treatment of melanoma and for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and in a Phase I trial to evaluate the safety and activity of alternate dosing schedules.