Good afternoon people:Good News out this afternoon!!!
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: PROCYON BIOPHARMA INC.
CDNX SYMBOL: PBP
JANUARY 25, 2000
Procyon BioPharma Inc. Announces Notice of Additional
Patent Protection for Colorectal Cancer Screening Test
(Colopath(TM))
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--Procyon BioPharma Inc. ("Procyon") announced
today the receipt of a notice from the European Patent Office of
the impending grant of a patent on its colorectal screening test,
COLOPATH(TM). Patents on the test have been issued earlier in the
United States, South Africa and Australia, with applications
continuing in Canada and Japan. Further coverage is being pursued
via additional applications in Canada and the US.
"The notice and anticipated granting of this Patent in Europe will
further widen the proprietary position for COLOPATH(TM) in several
important jurisdictions. This will enable us to add further value
to the development of the program and will strengthen our position
or that of a potential licensee in the colorectal cancer screening
market," said Hans Mäder, President and CEO of Procyon.
COLOPATH(TM) is a novel test, which allows the rapid early
detection of cancers of the colon and rectum, including large
polyps with a sensitivity of about 92 %. The ability to detect
and remove these polyps in a timely fashion is expected to
contribute to a decrease in rates of colorectal cancers.
The test is performed using a rectal mucous sample, collected
during an examination in the physician's office and measures a
specific component associated with the onset of early disease.
COLOPATH(TM) has been evaluated extensively in human trials in
Canada and is currently registered as a Class II medical device.
Trials in asymptomatic patients are presently in progress to
enable the registration of the test as a Class III medical device
in Canada.
The completion of the current round of trials, coupled with the
excellent negative predictive value of COLOPATH(TM) is expected to
enhance the positioning of the test as an important tool in
screening programs for colorectal cancer among high risk and
elderly populations.
Procyon BioPharma Inc. is a publicly listed, biopharmaceutical
company focused principally on advancing two powerful platform
technologies that have the potential to diagnose and treat cancer.
Procyon's Antinuclear Autoantibodies (ANAs) bind specifically to
multiple cancer cell types strongly enhancing the immune response
to cancer cells. Prostate Secretory Protein (PSP94) is a
naturally occurring human protein that has the potential to treat
prostate cancer by inhibiting abnormal prostate cell growth. In
addition, the estimation of PSP94 levels in prostate cancer
patients may have prognostic and diagnostic applications. Procyon
also has two late-stage products: FIBROSTAT(TM), a topical cream
for the management of newly formed scars following surgery or
burns and COLOPATH(TM), a rapid, non-invasive screening test for
colorectal cancer.
Procyon's shares trade on the CDNX under the ticker symbol, PBP.
The CDNX has neither approved nor disapproved the information
contained in this release.
-30- |
