• Allowed patent application claims methods for generating radioimmunoconjugates linked to Actinium-225
   
• Patent expected to expire in July 2030

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT:ATNM) ("Actinium" or "the Company"), a biopharmaceutical Company developing innovative targeted payload immunotherapeutics for the treatment of advanced cancers, announced today that the Company received a notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent claiming the methods for generating a radioimmunoconjugate comprised of actinium-225, an alpha emitting radioisotope, conjugated to monoclonal antibodies. Actinium-225 is the radioisotope used in Actinium’s Actimab-A, a drug candidate in a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are over the age of 60; Actimab-M, a drug candidate in a Phase 1 trial for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM); and the Company’s alpha particle immunotherapy technology platform. Actinium currently has 61 issued and pending patents that are owned or licensed relating to isotope production methods, drug preparation methods and the Company’s platform technology. This patent is expected to expire in July of 2030. 

Sandesh Seth, Actinium’s Executive Chairman said, “Actinium-225 is an excellent isotope for medical applications given its half-life, potency, safety profile and relatively ease of handling. As a result, it is an important aspect of Actinium’s Actimab-A and Actimab-M programs and alpha particle immunotherapy technology (APIT) platform. We welcome this addition to our intellectual property portfolio, which now consists of more than 60 patents. We will continue to invest in our intellectual property portfolio to further enhance our position in the use of alpha particles to enhance outcomes for patients.”

The claims of this patent are for a method for producing actinium-225 radioconjugates, the method comprising the steps of: a) conjugating a chelating agents to a biological molecule in a conjugations reaction mixture to generate a conjugated biological molecule, b) purifying the reaction mixture so as to remove unconjugated chelating agents, and c) chelating one or more actinium-225 radionuclides with the conjugated biological molecule in a chelation reaction mixture to generate an actinium-225 radioconjugate.

About Actinium’s Alpha Particle Immunotherapy Platform

Actinium's Alpha Particle Immunotherapy (APIT) platform is a highly potent and selective form of targeted payload radioimmunotherapy. The APIT platform is based on attaching the powerful alpha emitting radioisotope Actinium-225 to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which are large molecules capable of binding specifically to cancer cells. By virtue of carrying alpha emitters, mAbs bring Actinium-225 directly to cancer cells where alpha emitters can selectively kill the targeted cell. Actinium-225 emits significant energy making it a potent against targeted cancer cells but this energy only travels extremely short distances limiting damage to healthy tissues. Due to the targeting of this energy by way of the mAbs bringing the alpha emitting isotopes directly to cancer cells, Actinium believes Actinium-225 enabled therapies will result in potentially more effective and at the same time tolerable therapies. The Company owns patents and has licensed patents from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center related to its APIT platform. Actinium’s APIT platform intellectual property portfolio encompasses isotope production methods, drug preparation methods and the platform technology.

About Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative targeted therapies for patients with cancers lacking effective treatment options. Actinium's proprietary platform utilizes monoclonal antibodies to deliver radioisotopes directly to cells of interest in order to kill those cells safely and effectively. The Company's lead product candidate Iomab-B is designed to be used, upon approval, in preparing patients for a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, commonly referred to as bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow transplant is often the only potential cure for patients with blood-borne cancers but the current standard preparation for a transplant requires chemotherapy and/or total body irradiation that result in significant toxicities. Actinium believes Iomab-B will enable a faster and less toxic preparation of patients seeking a bone marrow transplant, leading to increased transplant success and survival rates. The Company is currently conducting a single pivotal 150-patient, multicenter Phase 3 clinical study of Iomab-B in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) age 55 and older. The Company's second product candidate, Actimab-A, is currently in a multicenter open-label, 53-patient Phase 2 trial for patients newly diagnosed with AML age 60 and over. Actimab-A is being developed to induce remissions in elderly patients with AML who lack effective treatment options and often cannot tolerate the toxicities of standard frontline therapies. In addition, Actinium is developing Actimab-M, which is being studied in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Actinium is also utilizing its alpha-particle immunotherapy (APIT) technology platform to generate new drug candidates based on antibodies linked to the element Actinium-225 that are directed at various cancers that are blood-borne or form solid tumors. Actinium Pharmaceuticals is based in New York, NY. To learn more about Actinium Pharmaceuticals, please visit www.actiniumpharma.com and to follow @ActiniumPharma on Twitter please visit, www.twitter.com/actiniumpharma.

Forward-Looking Statements for Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential, or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Actinium Pharmaceuticals undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact:

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Steve O'Loughlin
Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development
soloughlin@actiniumpharma.com 

Released February 28, 2017