DelMar Pharmaceuticals Receives Additional Non-Dilutive Funding from the Government of Canada to Support Expanded Research with Lead Product Candidate VAL-083

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMPI) ("DelMar" and the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new cancer therapies, today announced an increase in funding of up to CDN$413,000 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) to support ongoing research with VAL-083.

This increased funding will support additional research into VAL-083's mechanism of action including validation of molecular targets responsible for the drug's activity against cancer, investigation of combination therapies and pivotal in vivo models in new indications. 

Research will be conducted in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Prostate Centre and the B.C. Cancer Agency. 

"We are very pleased with NRC-IRAP's continued support of our non-clinical research of our lead product candidate VAL-083," said Jeffrey Bacha, chairman & CEO of DelMar Pharmaceuticals.  "NRC-IRAP's support to date has been instrumental in the progress our team has made in understanding VAL-083's unique mechanism of action and to broadening the focus of our research into new indications."

About VAL-083 
VAL-083 is a "first-in-class," small-molecule chemotherapeutic. In more than 40 Phase I and II clinical studies sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, VAL-083 demonstrated clinical activity against a range of cancers including lung, brain, cervical, ovarian tumors and leukemia both as a single-agent and in combination with other treatments.

DelMar's research has demonstrated that VAL-083 is active against GBM cell lines that are resistant to standard-of-care chemotherapy due to features such as high expression of MGMT, in vitro. 

DelMar presented data from its Phase I/II clinical trial in refractory GBM at the 2016 American Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual meeting demonstrating that the median survival of 22 patients receiving an assumed therapeutic dose of VAL-083 (≥20mg/m²) was 8.35 months following Avastin™ (bevacizumab) failure compared to published literature where survival of approximately two to five months has been reported. 

VAL-083 has received an orphan drug designation in Europe for the treatment of malignant gliomas and the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products has granted an orphan designation to VAL-083 for the treatment of glioma, medulloblastoma and ovarian cancer. 

Further details can be found at http://www.delmarpharma.com/scientific-publications.html.

About DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  
DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded to develop and commercialize new cancer therapies in indications where patients are failing or have become intolerable to modern targeted or biologic treatments. The Company's lead drug in development, VAL-083, is currently undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. as a potential treatment for refractory glioblastoma multiforme. VAL-083 has been extensively studied by U.S. National Cancer Institute, and is currently approved for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia and lung cancer in China. Published pre-clinical and clinical data suggest that VAL-083 may be active against a range of tumor types via a novel mechanism of action that could provide improved treatment options for patients.

For further information, please visit http://delmarpharma.com/; or contact DelMar Pharmaceuticals Investor Relations: ir@delmarpharma.com / (604) 629-5989. Connect with the Company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.

Safe Harbor Statement

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to develop, market and sell products based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products and technology; the availability of substantial additional funding for the Company to continue its operations and to conduct research and development, clinical studies and future product commercialization; and, the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including, our current reports on Form 8-K.

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SOURCE DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.