GREAT NEWS on 1402 !!THIS NEWS SIMPLY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANY BETTER>>>>> FINALLY
ProMetic Announces Positive Clinical Results for PBI-1402
- A significant increase in reticulocytes (red blood cell precursors)
observed
- No significant adverse event reported
MONTREAL, Dec. 14 /CNW Telbec/ - ProMetic BioSciences Inc., the
Therapeutic subsidiary of ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI.SV) announces
positive preliminary results from a Phase I clinical study with PBI-1402,
confirming that the drug, taken orally, increases the absolute and relative
number of reticulocytes in blood. This is a first indication of efficacy in
healthy human volunteers. These preliminary clinical results demonstrate an
effect of PBI-1402 on reticulocytes comparable to erythropoietin (EPO), the
natural growth factor responsible for the production of red blood cells.
Previously, we reported positive results of in vitro experiments on human bone
marrow and in immunosuppressed animal models.
"We are very pleased with these results which showed a significant
increase in reticulocytes in healthy individuals without any significant
adverse effects," said Dr Christopher Penney, Vice-President of R&D and CSO
Therapeutics. "PBI-1402 has the additional competitive advantage of being a
low-molecular weight, orally active synthetic drug that is relatively
inexpensive and manufactured on a large scale by a proprietary process."
"This new drug could play a major role in the treatment of anemia induced
by chemotherapy and renal dialysis," said Dr Denis Claude Roy, Hematologist
and Director, Cellular Therapy Laboratory at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital,
and principal investigator of this study.
PBI-1402 leads the way in novel drug discovery that could contribute to
further increase the efficacy of existing anemia treatment protocol while
reducing the cost to the healthcare system.
About the study
This randomized, double blind, dose-escalating Phase I study included
five cohorts of eight subjects randomized to receive PBI-1402 or placebo. The
objectives of the study were to gain early evidence of the efficacy and to
confirm the safety and tolerability of PBI-1402 in healthy volunteers.
Anemia
These results suggest that PBI-1402 could be used for the treatment of
anemia. Approximately two-thirds of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or
radiotherapy suffer from this disease. Anemia is also associated with end-
stage renal disease as is the case for patients who require regular dialysis
or kidney transplants for survival. The current annual market for EPO in the
United States is expected to reach US$9.3 billion in 2005 and grow to
US$15.4 billion by 2010.
Webcast and Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, December 14 at
11:00 a.m. (EST) to discuss these results. To access the conference call, dial
1-800-796-7558 (North America) or 416-640-4127 (international). To access the
archived conference call, please dial 1-877-289-8525 and enter 21105123(pound
key). A live webcast with slides will be available at www.prometic.com and
www.newswire.ca/webcast .