TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Portage Biotech Inc. ("the Company")
(OTCBB: PTGEF, CNSX: PBT.U), ("Portage") is pleased to announce that
its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Portage Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
("PPL") has formed a Scientific Advisory Board ("SAB") to provide
guidance and expertise as Portage develops proprietary biologically
active peptides that utilize its licensed Antennapedia cell-permeable
peptide technology that enables delivery to intracellular and
intranuclear targets.
Founding members of the SAB include the following:
Dr. Burt Adelman - Dr. Burt Adelman is presently Executive Vice President Research and
Development and Chief Medical Officer at Dyax, Inc. and a senior
advisor to Eleven Biotherapeutics. He received his M.D. degree from
Cornell University Medical College in 1976. Dr. Adelman served as
House Officer and Medical Resident at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital
(now the Brigham and Women's Hospital) and Harvard Medical School from
1976 through 1978. He completed his haematology fellowship at the
Brigham in 1981. Dr. Adelman holds boards in internal medicine and
haematology. Dr. Adelman's experience and expertise in drug
development spans from discovery to development to commercial promotion
and includes biologics and small molecules. Dr. Adelman is also a
Visiting Scholar at the MIT Center for Biologic Innovation and a member
of the Corporation of Partners Healthcare.
Dr. Michael Caplan - Michael J. Caplan is the C.N.H. Long Professor and Chair of the
Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Professor of Cell
Biology at the Yale University School of Medicine. He earned his
undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1980 and his M.D. and
Ph.D. degrees from Yale University in 1987. His scientific work focuses
on understanding the ways in which kidney cells generate and maintain
their unique structures.
Dr. Sankar Ghosh - Sankar Ghosh, Ph.D., is the Silverstein and Hutt Family Professor of
Microbiology and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and
Immunology at Columbia University in New York City. Dr. Ghosh received
his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine in 1988. Dr. Ghosh began his independent research career at
Yale University School of Medicine in 1991, and was a Professor in the
Departments of Immunobiology and Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry,
before arriving at Columbia in December 2008. Dr. Ghosh continues to be
best known for his work on NF-kB. Because NF-kB plays an important role
in regulating the expression of a number of genes involved in
inflammation and the immune responses, his research has implications
for the treatment of arthritis, colitis, dermatitis, asthma, and other
inflammatory diseases, as well as diseases such as cancer and muscular
dystrophy. He has published more than 150 articles.
"We are very pleased to welcome these three scientists to our SAB," said
Dr. Bruce Littman, Chief Executive Officer of PPL. "Their track records
of success in their respective fields are exemplary and reflect their
status as world-class biotech scientists. Their addition to the
leadership of PPL greatly expands our knowledge of the progress and
direction of biological science and biotechnology that are relevant to
our company's goals and will help guide the direction of PPL's drug
development programs."
"PPL has assembled an exceptional team of scientific and biotech
leaders", said Dr. Burt Adelman, a member of the Scientific Advisory
Board. "Their cell permeable peptide platform and ideas for using this
to discover and develop important new biological medicines for many
patients with medical conditions that currently lack adequate treatment
is exciting and important. I am pleased to join PPL's scientific
advisory board and look forward to guiding the company as it pursues
its important mission."
The Scientific Advisory Board held its first meeting in Stonington, CT
on November 11th to review and advise the Company's management and Board of Directors on
scientific strategies and to provide input and critique on the
Company's research and development activities. The SAB is a proactive
group that will assist management in making clinically and
scientifically relevant decisions going forward on a regular basis.
About Portage:
Portage is engaged in researching and developing pharmaceutical and
biotech products through to clinical "proof of concept" with an initial
focus on unmet clinical needs and orphan drugs. Following proof of
concept, Portage will look to sell or license the products to large
pharmaceutical companies for further development and commercialization.
Portage through its subsidiary holds an exclusive worldwide licence in
non-oncology fields and the know-how relating to the Antennapedia
protein transduction technology developed by Trojantec. Antennapedia
("Antp"), is an unusual protein that allows for the delivery of drugs
into a cell and even into the nucleus which is often the desired site
of action. This protein coupled with a drug may even cross the blood
brain barrier. Portage is developing a research pipeline of Antp-based
drug candidates and evaluating their function and potential as new
therapeutic agents for a variety of non-oncology indications.
Portage management is looking to in license additional products to add
to its portfolio.
For further information, contact Greg Bailey, the Chairman at gb@portagebiotech.com or Kam Shah, Chief Financial Officer, at (416) 929-1806 or ks@portagebiotech.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the U.S. federal and Canadian securities laws. Any such statements
reflect Portage's current views and assumptions about future events and
financial performance. Portage cannot assure that future events or
performance will occur. Important risks and factors that could cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated in
our forward-looking statements.
Portage assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update
the information in this News Release.
SOURCE Portage Biotech Inc.