Company news.
Thursday April 6, 8:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: SONUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
SONUS Pharmaceuticals Signs Agreement for
Development of Blood Substitute Products
BOTHELL, Wash., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- SONUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNUS - news) announced
today the signing of an agreement with The State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY/UB) to work together in
developing blood substitute products for intravascular oxygen delivery. With this arrangement, SUNY/UB will lead the
efforts in the research and development of oxygen delivery systems based on SONUS' proprietary perfluoropentane
emulsion technology and will be responsible for licensing to third parties the rights to commercialize any products
developed under this agreement.
``We are very pleased to be working with the State University of New York at Buffalo on this collaboration,' said
Michael A. Martino, SONUS President and CEO. ``We believe that the potential expansion of our perfluoropentane
emulsion into the area of oxygen delivery systems truly demonstrates the breadth of our technology platform. Oxygen
carrying products developed with the Company's emulsion technology may hold the promise of eliminating the need for
blood cross matching and typing, and, in addition, there would be no risk of contamination from blood-borne
diseases.'
Computer modeling studies performed by researchers at SUNY/UB with SONUS' perfluoropentane emulsion have
indicated that this gaseous fluorocarbon is much more effective than liquid fluorocarbons for delivering oxygen. The
calculations from these models demonstrate that the perfluoropentane emulsion can carry more than 600 times as much
oxygen as another fluorocarbon currently under clinical development.
``We are excited about this exclusive agreement with SONUS Pharmaceuticals,' said Claes Lundgren, M.D., Ph.D.,
Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at SUNY/UB and Principal Investigator. ``We have initiated pre-clinical
studies with SONUS' perfluoropentane emulsion and believe that it promises to be an extremely effective oxygen
delivery system.'
SONUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., located in Bothell, Washington, is a developer of ultrasound contrast agents to improve
the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and drug delivery systems to aid in the treatment of various cancers and other
debilitating conditions. The Company also is engaged in the research and development of blood substitute products for
intravascular oxygen delivery.
The Company's news releases and other corporate information are available on its web site at www.sonuspharma.com.
SONUS news releases also may be obtained via fax by calling 800-758-5804, Ext. 108377.
Certain of the statements in this news release are forward-looking such as those, among others, relating to the research
and development of blood substitute products for oxygen delivery and the breadth of the Company's technology.
Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of the following
factors, among others; there can be no assurance that the research and development efforts to develop oxygen delivery
systems with SONUS' emulsion technology will be successful or that a commercially viable blood substitute product
will be developed or licensed to third parties; and any future products developed with the Company's technology will
require approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies, which approvals may never
occur; and market acceptance of any products, if approved, will depend upon a number of factors, including safety,
efficacy, ease of administration, the presence of competitive products or technologies and the availability of
reimbursement by third party payors.
SOURCE: SONUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
