Selecta Biosciences Announces Upcoming Clinical Presentations

WATERTOWN, Mass., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SELB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on unlocking the full potential of biologic therapies by avoiding unwanted immune responses, today announced the following upcoming clinical presentations:

Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2017)

Title:     SEL-212: Enhanced serum uric acid control in hyperuricemic patients through 
  selective mitigation of anti-drug antibodies against pegsiticase  
Type:    Poster Presentation  
Location:   Madrid, Spain  
Date:    June 15, 2017 at 11:45 a.m. local time  


Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies’ Annual Meeting (FOCIS 2017)

Title:      Initial data from a Phase 2 multiple ascending dose clinical trial of SEL-212 
  indicate that the addition of tolerogenic nanoparticles to pegylated uricase 
  enables sustained control of serum uric acid in symptomatic gout patients
Type:   Late-Breaking Oral Presentation and Poster Presentations  
Location:   Chicago, IL  
Date:   June 15, 2017 at 4:15 p.m. local time  

Selecta plans to report updated patient data from its ongoing Phase 2 trial of its lead product candidate, SEL-212, in conjunction with its EULAR 2017 and FOCIS 2017 presentations on Thursday, June 15, 2017. At 8:30 a.m. ET that same day, the company will host a conference call to discuss the data. Those interested can access a live and archived webcast of this call via the Investors & Media section of the company’s website, http://selectabio.com. Individuals may also participate in the live call via telephone by dialing (877) 270-2148 (domestic) or (412) 902-6510 (international) and may access a teleconference replay for one week by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international) and using confirmation code 10108095.

About Severe Gout, SEL-212 and Selecta’s Ongoing Phase 2 Trial
Based upon market research, Selecta estimates that more than 500,000 gout patients in the U.S. are treated by rheumatologists and approximately 160,000 of these patients are considered “difficult to treat,” meaning they are refractory to conventional oral therapies and/or have been diagnosed with tophaceous gout. These patients typically have a build-up of uric acid deposits called tophi in their joints and tissues that cause pain, inflammation of joints and debilitating flares. If untreated, these deposits also can potentially exacerbate kidney and cardiovascular disease and increase morbidity. In fact, a study published in 2016 involving more than 600 patients diagnosed with tophaceous gout showed a 60% increased risk of mortality when compared to more than 2,800 patients without tophi.1

Published data show that uricase enzymes such as pegsiticase have the ability to rapidly eliminate uric acid crystal deposits in refractory or tophaceous gout patients.2 However, since these are biologic enzymes that are recognized as “foreign” by the immune system, anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) are induced in most patients early in their treatment, compromising efficacy, causing infusion reactions and other adverse events, and preventing further administrations.

SEL-212 (SVP-Rapamycin in combination with the uricase enzyme pegsiticase) is designed to be the first monthly uricase treatment that avoids immunogenicity. It is intended to remove the patient’s uric acid burden through a short induction treatment cycle, thereby improving acute symptoms such as pain, inflammation of joints and debilitating flares. Selecta also envisions that additional SEL-212 treatment cycles could be re-administered if severe gout symptoms were to recur.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, Selecta began enrolling patients with symptomatic gout and elevated serum uric acid levels in an open-label, multiple ascending dose Phase 2 clinical trial of SEL-212. The primary and secondary endpoints for this trial include safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, reduction of serum uric acid levels and reduction of ADA levels. Data also are being collected regarding flares and other patient-related observations. Patients are being enrolled in multiple ascending dose cohorts to enable the identification of the optimal dose ratio of SVP-Rapamycin and pegsiticase, the minimal effective dose level of SEL-212 for repeat monthly administration, and the dose regimen to take forward into Phase 3. More information about the trial (NCT02959918) is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Selecta Biosciences, Inc.
Selecta Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is focused on unlocking the full potential of biologic therapies by avoiding unwanted immune responses. Selecta plans to combine its tolerogenic Synthetic Vaccine Particles (SVP™) to a range of biologics for rare and serious diseases that require new treatment options. The company’s current proprietary pipeline includes SVP-enabled enzyme, oncology and gene therapies. SEL-212, the company’s lead candidate in Phase 2, is being developed to treat severe gout patients and resolve their debilitating symptoms, including flares and gouty arthritis. Selecta’s clinical oncology candidate, LMB-100, is in a Phase 1 program targeting pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma. Its two proprietary gene therapy product candidates are being developed for rare inborn errors of metabolism and have the potential to enable repeat administration. The use of SVP is also being explored in the development of vaccines and treatments for allergies and autoimmune diseases. Selecta is based in Watertown, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit http://selectabio.com and follow @SelectaBio on Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about the future expectations, plans and prospects of Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (“the company”), including without limitation, the company’s plans to present data concerning SEL-212, the ability of SEL-212 to avoid unwanted immune responses, the ability of SEL-212 to improve acute symptoms during a short induction cycle, the ability of SEL-212 to be re-administered if severe gout symptoms recur, whether the company will determine an appropriate dose of SEL-212 for a Phase 3, whether the company will advance to a Phase 3 for SEL-212 at all, the company’s ability to unlock the full potential of biologic therapies, the company’s plan to apply its SVP platform to a range of biologics for rare and serious diseases, the potential treatment applications for products utilizing the SVP platform in areas such as enzyme therapy, gene therapy, oncology therapy, vaccines and treatments for allergies and autoimmune diseases, the potential of SEL-212 to treat severe gout patients and resolve their debilitating symptoms, the potential of the company’s two gene therapy product candidates to enable repeat administration, and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hypothesize,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, the following: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation, completion and cost of clinical trials including their uncertain outcomes, the unproven approach of the company’s SVP technology, undesirable side effects of the company’s product candidates, its reliance on third parties to manufacture its product candidates and to conduct its clinical trials, the company’s inability to maintain its existing or future collaborations, licenses or contractual relationships, its inability to protect its proprietary technology and intellectual property, potential delays in regulatory approvals, the availability of funding sufficient for its foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, substantial fluctuation in the price of its common stock, a significant portion of the company’s total outstanding shares have recently become eligible to be sold into the market, and other important factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on May 11, 2017, and in other filings that the company makes with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the company’s views only as of the date of its publication and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release.

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1 Choi H, Lu L, Rai S, Zhang Y. September 2016. Tophaceous Gout and the Risk of Mortality: A General Population-Based Study. ACR 2016. Washington, DC. Abstract# 2300.

2 Araujo E, Bayat S, Petsch C, Matthias E, Faustini F, Kleyer A, Hueber A, Cavallaro A, Lell M, Dalbeth N, et al. June 2015. Tophus resolution with pegloticase: a prospective dual-energy CT study. Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases.

CONTACT: Contact Information:
Jason Fredette
Selecta Biosciences, Inc.
617-231-8078
jfredette@selectabio.com

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