AVAN. Biotech company. Just broke 52 wk high of 3 1/2 with news just out. Big blocks trading.
PR NEWSWIRE) AVANT Immunotherapeutics Is Leading a New Generation of Drug
AVANT Immunotherapeutics Is Leading a New Generation of Drugs In Cardiac
Surgery
- CEO Addresses Hambrecht & Quist's Annual Health Care Conference -
HAMBRECHT & QUIST HEALTH CARE 2000 CONFERENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13
/PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Una S. Ryan, President and CEO of AVANT
Immunotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVAN), presented highlights of AVANT's lead
product, TP10, as potentially the first drug to prevent excessive inflammation
and tissue damage during cardiac surgery, today at the Hambrecht & Quist
Annual Healthcare Conference.
Dr. Ryan described how TP10 is leading a new generation of drugs in
cardiac surgery which inhibit an integral part of the immune system called the
complement system. AVANT's clinical and preclinical experience with TP10
support the potential of this molecule to limit complement-mediated damage to
the heart and other organs following surgery on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).
Phase I/II clinical studies of TP10 are underway in infants undergoing CPB for
congenital heart defects to improve post-operative outcomes for these
critically ill babies. Fifteen babies have been successfully treated with
TP10 and the Company plans to start a Phase III multi-center study later this
year.
Highlighting another of AVANT's most promising products, Dr. Ryan noted
the advances the Company has made in its CETi-1 vaccine program which is
directed toward improving the management of atherosclerosis, an estimated $8
billion market. CETi-1 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I study and
AVANT plans to start a Phase II efficacy and dose ranging study in the second
half of 2000. CETi-1 may offer significant advantages either alone or in
combination with current cholesterol-modifying treatments including greater
compliance, increased HDL elevation ("good cholesterol"), and lower cost.
The presentation also emphasized AVANT's rich pipeline of other
immunotherapeutics, which continues to be fueled by a broad set of
complementary technologies that modulate the key components of the immune
system. AVANT's lead products target multi-billion-dollar markets in the
fields of cardiovascular disease, chronic viral infection, and cancer. While
the Company has partnered several of these programs to blue chip
pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, SmithKline Beecham, Aventis
Pasteur, and Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals, AVANT has retained full rights to
three of its internal development programs. In most of these markets, there
are no existing therapies or adequate treatments.
In closing, Dr. Ryan pointed to the major milestones AVANT achieved in the
past year as evidence of the Company's ability to significantly advance its
product pipeline, and in doing so, is poised to enter the final stage of
clinical development for its lead product TP10 in 2000.
SOURCE AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc.
-0- 01/13/2000
/Contact: Una S. Ryan, Ph.D., President and CEO of AVANT
Immunotherapeutics, Inc., 781-433-0771/
(AVAN)
CO: AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc.
ST: California
IN: MTC
SU: TDS
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