Thursday September 30, 11:58 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Endorex Presents Update On Vaccine Delivery At ICAAC
SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 30, 1999--
Endorex Corporation (AMEX: DOR - news) announced today scientific advancements in its vaccine delivery joint venture, Innovax, with Elan Corporation, plc., at the 39th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) held in San Francisco. This meeting, sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology, is a major forum for presentation and review of the latest advances in prevention and cure of infectious diseases, attended by over 15,000 infectious disease experts from major universities and pharmaceutical companies.
The key results, presented by Robert Brey, Ph.D., Endorex Vice President of Research and Development, and a corporate Vice President of Innovax, demonstrated that a tetanus toxoid vaccine in the Orasome(TM) delivery system administered orally and intranasally in animal models could induce 100% seroconversion after a single intranasal dose. Additionally, the intranasal vaccine was capable of inducing antibodies that are associated with blockage of infection in the nasal passages and lungs. These immune responses are also associated with antibodies that are more characteristic of natural infections than those achieved by injecting vaccines. The oral and intranasal vaccines are made possible by improvements in encapsulation technology that protect vaccine antigens during contact with mucosal surfaces such as in the nasopharynx and the use of safe and effective immunostimulatory adjuvants. Adjuvants boost the overall immune response to the antigen, creating a higher level of immunization. This element is critical in persons with diminished immune systems, such as the elderly, where many vaccines are much less effective. Innovax scientists are also exploring a single antigen tetanus vaccine as the core of a combination vaccine that will also contain diphtheria antigens.
Both the human and veterinary vaccine markets are growing rapidly worldwide and are projected to reach $10 billion in sales by 2005. Growing markets and the burgeoning interest in new vaccines with new uses will create a significant opportunity for vaccines that are administered by non-invasive routes. Because of the improved patient acceptance, vaccines that are taken by mouth or intranasally will achieve the most significant market share of the vaccine market. On the basis of this opportunity, Endorex formed a joint venture named Innovax with Elan to combine research efforts for oral and mucosal vaccines with research groups in Dublin, Ireland and Chicago, Illinois, and additional R&D work sponsored at several U.S. and European academic and medical institutions. Several Elan senior scientific executives participate in the management of Innovax. During 1999, Innovax acquired additional oral vaccine delivery technology and a body of intellectual property with several issued and pending U.S. and foreign patents. This technology was discovered at the Southern Research Institute and the University of Alabama Research Foundation. The business and scientific goals of Innovax are to work with multinational pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies to take their existing and new vaccines and convert them into an oral and/or mucosal format, thereby simplifying the dosage regimen for the patients.
``The successful development of oral and intranasal vaccine delivery systems will ultimately allow complete replacement of needles for administration of vaccines,' stated Dr. Brey. ``The prospect of needleless delivery will also facilitate delivery of both adult and pediatric vaccinations,' added Brey. ``We have reported initial positive results with orally administered non-living subunit vaccines using one of the delivery systems under development, the Orasome(TM) system. Such results are usually seen with living virus or bacterial vaccines and very rarely seen with non-living subunits. We now report that this delivery system is capable of inducing potent immune responses when administered intranasally. This is significant because the results show that small quantities of antigens can elicit these responses at levels similar to injected vaccines. We know that the type of immune response is itself different -- more characteristic of immune response seen after natural infections. We anticipate over the coming months that Innovax will develop this concept for clinical evaluation.'
Endorex is a drug delivery company. The Company's drug delivery technologies focus on: 1) oral/mucosal delivery of drugs and vaccines, 2) disposable microinfusion pump for delivery of selected drugs for life-threatening diseases, and 3) improved delivery of cancer therapy. The Company's oral delivery technology, the Orasome(TM) system was licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1998, Endorex formed two drug delivery joint ventures with Elan Corporation, plc. Endorex is also developing improved delivery of cancer therapy with two families of compounds: the monoterpenes and the muramyl dipeptides (biologicals).
The statements made in this press release contain certain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such statements are only predictions and actual events or results in future periods may differ materially from what is currently anticipated. In particular, no assurance can be given that either of the joint ventures with Elan will commence clinical trials, successfully develop products, negotiate corporate partnerships or become profitable, that the Orasome(TM) delivery system will lead to successful products or become profitable, that the Company will initiate additional clinical trials or that such trials will be successful, or that any of the Company's cancer drug candidates will receive regulatory approval or become commercially successful. In addition to the matters described in this press release, risk factors as described from time to time in Endorex's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its most recent reports on Form 10-QSB and Form 10-KSB, may affect the results achieved by Endorex. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release. |
