GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: AMPE) today announced the joining of two prominent scientists in the field of molecular biology and stem cell research to its SAB.
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Michael Macaluso, Ampio's CEO, noted "The company is currently advancing three drugs (Ampion™, Optina™ and Zertane™) and one diagnostic device (ORP) through clinical trials and commercialization. It has become apparent to our science and clinical teams that new, and clinically important, indications for these drugs are evident. Further, our drug portfolio also includes a large number of compounds that have already demonstrated in vitro activity as well as some in vivo efficacy in the treatment of inflammation and cancer. These compounds are protected by numerous patents that include composition of matter claims.
"This pipeline would be impressive for a fortune 100 company, much more for a company of Ampio's modest size and limited resources. So we must elevate our analytical ability to determine which clinical paths to pursue that will provide the most near term and cost effective increase to shareholder value. Towards that end, Ampio has formed a SAB, which a few carefully chosen scientists, after becoming familiar with the science of Ampio, have agreed to join. They will support and augment Ampio's commercial progress by providing broad, as well as cutting edge, experience in the fields of stem cell research and molecular biology. This SAB will review the company's progress in research and clinical development as well as provide and evaluate new scientific perspectives alongside the company's management and scientists.
Dr. David Bar-Or, Ampio's Chief Scientific Officer, commented " I am gratified to report that Dr. Pablo Rubinstein and Dr. Edward Brody have agreed to join our SAB and participated in our initial SAB meeting on November 30, 2013 at the corporate headquarters in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Their insight into the science of Ampio will advance significantly the ongoing stem cell research in which my group is making major advances. A brief summary of their experience and accomplishments makes it clear how fortunate we are to have them join our SAB":
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Pablo Rubinstein, MD., a surgeon and immunogeneticist by training, is the founder and director, of the National Cord Blood Program at the New York Blood Center (NYBC), where he developed the first public cord blood banking system. He has played a leading role in international cord blood transplantation in which the stem cells from the placental and umbilical cord blood of unrelated donors are used to treat, by transplantation, leukemia, lymphoma and other neoplastic diseases of the blood. More than seventy (70) genetic diseases, such as Hurler's disease, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), Severe Aplastic Anemia and Sickle Cell disease have been treated successfully with cord blood transplantation. His peer reviewed publications teaching the processing methods he developed and generous training of an international fellowship of physicians and blood bankers at the NYBC cell processing laboratory have stimulated and led to the establishment of more than 100 public cord blood banks in thirty (30) countries and an inventory of more than 600,000 cryogenically stored cord blood units from ethnically diverse donors. These cord blood banks have provided most of the over thirty thousand cord blood transplants to date.
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Milestones accomplished by Dr. Rubinstein and his team in the development of this new field of medicine include providing the 1st unrelated stem cell transplant for hematopoietic reconstitution, receiving the 1st IND from the FDA that allowed cord blood processing and freezing for transplantation to proceed (1996) and, in November 2011, the first Biologics License issued by the FDA for any stem cell preparation.
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Dr. Rubinstein earned his M.D. degree from the Universidad de Chile in 1962 and completed a surgical residency at Hospital Clinico of the Universidad de Chile, followed by a fellowship at the M.I. Bassett Hospital, Columbia University. He also completed a National Institutes of Health (NIH) International Postdoctoral Research fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. His study of immunogenetics, which encompasses the structure and function of genes that regulate immune responses, control the acceptance or rejection of tissue and organ transplants, and affect susceptibility to certain types of diseases, led to his appointment as an investigator at the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute at the New York Blood Center (NYBC) and eventually as Director of the Fred H. Allen Jr. Laboratory of Immunogenetics. He served as Clinical Professor in the Pathology Department at Columbia University School of Medicine.
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He has also conducted collaborative research on the Genetics of Juvenile (Type I) Diabetes Mellitus in humans and showed that the disease is inherited as a recessive gene with incomplete penetrance through genes in the HLA region. He has also conducted studies on the genetic structure of the HLA region in humans and its homologs in other species and shown the linkage of several components of the complement system including Factor B in the alternative pathway and C2 and C4, active in the classical pathway.
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He has also worked in the genetics of human blood groups and discovered the existence of Fy6, and allele of the Duffy blood group system that serves as the receptor for the binding of P. vivax malaria merozoites.
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Dr. Rubinstein is the author of more than 200 research papers on immunogenetics, cord blood banking and transplantation.
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Edward N. Brody, M.D., Ph.D., a physician, molecular biologist, biochemist and biophysicist by training, is the Chief Medical Officer Emeritus of SomaLogic Inc. and Adjunct Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Brody served as Vice-President, Drug Discovery, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Boulder, Colorado 1998-1999 and has been working in proteomics at SomaLogic since its inception in 2000. Proteomics is a branch of biotechnology concerned with applying the techniques of molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics to analyzing the structure, function, and interactions of the proteins produced by the genes of a particular cell, tissue, or organism, with organizing the information in databases, and with applications of the data. The company has developed protein-binding reagents and technologies that can efficiently, accurately and rapidly identify and quantify 1,129 proteins across approximately eight logs of concentration in small sample volumes that support advanced biomarker discovery, diagnostics development, and pharmaceutical discovery and development.
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Dr. Brody earned his M.D.(1964) and Ph.D. Biochemistry (1965) from the University of Chicago and accepted a Postdoctoral Fellow position at the Department of Biophysics, Laboratory of E.P. Geiduschek in Chicago. He then went to Geneva, Switzerland (1965-1968) and continued his research as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Molecular Biology. Dr. Brody moved from Geneva to the Biochemistry Department of the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Paris, France and joined the French National Research Council (C.N.R.S.) in 1971 as "Chargé de Recherche" and was promoted to the position of "Maître de Recherche" in 1973. In 1983, Dr. Brody took a sabbatical to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, working in John Abelson's laboratory studying the splicing of pre-mRNA in S. cerevisiae and was able to label, isolate, and prove the structure of an in vivo generated lariat intron RNA and then found that in vitro splicing takes place specifically on a 40S particle which he named the spliceosome. Their article in Science (228, 963-7, [1986]) was one of the 100 most cited life science articles for the year 1985.
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Returning to France in August, 1985, Dr. Brody worked on mammalian pre-mRNA splicing, and in particular on tissue specific splicing, skeletal muscle-specific splicing of b-tropomyosin pre-mRNA and in 1988, moved to Gif-sur-Yvette, where splicing was the major pursuit of the laboratory. In 1992, Dr. Brody was recruited to become Professor, Chairman Department of Biology, Department of Biological Sciences SUNY Buffalo, USA.
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Dr. Brody is the author of a large number of research papers in the field of molecular biology and proteomics.
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About Ampio Pharmaceuticals
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of therapies to treat prevalent inflammatory conditions for which there are limited treatment options. We are developing compounds that decrease inflammation by (i) inhibiting specific pro-inflammatory compounds by affecting specific pathways at the protein expression and at the transcription level; (ii) activating specific phosphatase or depletion of the available phosphate needed for the inflammation process; and (iii) decreasing vascular permeability.
Forward Looking Statements
Ampio's statements in this press release that are not historical fact and that relate to future plans or events are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such as "believe," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include risks associated with clinical trials, expected results, regulatory approvals, and changes in business conditions and similar events. The risks and uncertainties involved include those detailed from time to time in Ampio's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, under Ampio's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Ampio undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Investor Contact: Rick Giles, Director of Investor Relations, Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Direct: (720) 437-6530, Email: rgiles@ampiopharma.com
SOURCE Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.