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Promising Data Presented On New Complex Carbohydrate Anti-Fungal Agent May 12, 1997 8:59 AM EDT
In Vitro Data Presented at 97th Annual General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- IGG International, Inc. (Nasdaq: IGGI) today announced promising in vitro results from an independent evaluation of the Company's lead carbohydrate-based anti-fungal compound, CAN-296. The results were presented at the 97th Annual American Society for Microbiology General Meeting by Jack D. Sobel, M.D., the principle investigator of the study.
Dr. Sobel, who is Chief of Infectious Disease at Harper Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine commented, "The in vitro activity of CAN-296 is remarkable. In these experiments, CAN- 296 showed rapid and potent cidal activity against a broad spectrum of fungal species. CAN-296 is different because it is fungicidal, kills the fungus, verses most anti-fungal products that only inhibit the growth of fungus, or fungistatic." Dr. Sobel further stated, "Based on these preliminary results, I believe the clinical potential of CAN-296 is enormous."
"CAN-296 is the newest addition to our pipeline of many carbohydrate-based products to combat human and agricultural diseases." stated David Platt, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of IGG International. "The extraordinary results of this study reinforce our approach to the development of new products under our SafeScience trademark."
CAN-296 was invented by Dr. Platt who is a carbohydrate chemist and is also the co-founder of IGG International. CAN-296 is a natural complex carbohydrate that has been extracted from the cell wall of certain fungi. IGGI has a patent pending on the CAN-296 structure. The Company plans to develop CAN-296 for both topical and systemic anti-fungal applications.
The in vitro activity of CAN-296 was evaluated by testing 119 clinical and American Type Culture Collection isolates of yeast and Aspergillus funigatus, many of which were azole-resistant. The in vitro susceptibility tests were performed by standardized broth micro-and microdilution methods and the results were compared with those obtained for amphotericin B, fluconazole, ketoconazole, flucytosine and the pneumocandin L-733,560. All tested Candida species showed highly uniform susceptibility to CAN-296 at a concentration of 0.078 to 0.312 ug/ml; non-albicans Candida were as susceptible to CAN-296 as the Candida albicans strains. Multiazole-resistant Candida species were highly sensitive to CAN-296. Minimum inhibitory concentration measurements did not differ from minimum lethal concentrations by more than two-fold for all tested Candida species. Aspergillus funigatus, on the other hand, showed only moderate susceptibility to CAN-296. The kinetics of the anti-Candida activity of CAN-296 was investigated by kill-curve experiments using C. albicans and C. glabrata. CAN-296 was found to be rapidly cidal in concentrations ranging from 2-16 fold of the of mean minimal inhibitory concentration value. The broad spectrum of anti-Candida activity, together with the rapid cidal effect, make the complex carbohydrate a promising agent for clinical use.
IGG International, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing complex carbohydrate compounds, derived from naturally occurring substances, for pharmaceutical and agricultural applications. IGGI has two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: International Gene Group, Inc. and Agricultural Glycosystems, Inc. Further information is available on IGG's web site: www.iggint.com.
Any statements contained in this release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks of product nonapproval or delays by the FDA, clinical trial results, product development and market acceptance risks, the results of current and future licensing and other collaborative relationships, the results of financing efforts, developments regarding intellectual property rights and litigation, and other risks identified in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual results, events or performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undo reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. SOURCE IGG International, Inc.
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