Pharmos Reports Progress in Dexanabinol Program
Presents R&D Results in International Forums
ISELIN, N.J., July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmos Corporation (Nasdaq: PARS; Easdaq: PHRM) presented today the results of its entire Phase II clinical trial for dexanabinol in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) at the Eleventh International Symposium on Intracranial Pressure and Brain Monitoring in Cambridge, England. Making their public debut at the Symposium, the comprehensive three-dose study results of dexanabinol included data substantiating dexanabinol as an agent that prevents the elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP) in TBI patients without a concomitant decrease in systolic blood pressure. Currently no approved treatment is available for TBI.
The clinical study, which enrolled a total of 101 patients and was completed earlier this year, showed that dexanabinol reduced the mean time in which ICP exceeded 25mmHg by 60-80% in patients during the first four days following injury, compared to placebo. ICP above 25mmHg is one of the most important negative prognostic indications of outcome in the treatment of severe TBI. The results will also be presented at two neurotrauma conferences in October: the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma in San Antonio, Texas, and the Fifth International Neurotrauma Symposium in Germany.
Dexanabinol is the leading neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory compound in Pharmos' CNS program. As previously announced, the Company will soon commence an international pivotal trial of dexanabinol on several hundred TBI patients later this year.
In its quest for new powerful drug candidates for the treatment of neuro-inflammatory diseases, Pharmos is using state-of-the-art robotic high-throughput screening for neuroprotective as well as anti-inflammatory agents directed against molecular targets such as cyclooxygenbase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthetase and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Pharmos' revitalized drug discovery program has led to the recent filing of a patent that covers a wide spectrum of dexanabinol derivatives, some of which are significantly more potent than the parent compound in neuroprotection and anti-inflammatory properties.
George Fink, Pharmos' Vice President of Research, commented, ``We have intensified our efforts to design new derivatives of dexanabinol and improve our understanding of the molecular and genomic mechanisms underlying the mode of action of dexanabinol and its analogs. Our dexanabinol developmental efforts are aimed at yielding drug candidates for the treatment of various neuro-inflammatory indications including stroke and multiple sclerosis, among others. We are encouraged by our findings to-date, which we hope to translate into an enriched product pipeline, thereby strengthening Pharmos' position as a leader in the race to defeat these critical indications.''
At the June meeting of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies in Brighton, England, Pharmos presented the results of a new screening technique that employed laser scanning confocal microscopy to pinpoint the pivotal mechanism by which dexanabinol exerts its neuroprotective effect. The technique demonstrated that dexanabinol inhibits more than 80% of glutamate-induced calcium influx into brain cells. This is an important mechanism of action in that glutamate-induced increases in intracellular calcium concentration trigger several cascades, causing secondary brain cell death in stroke, head trauma, multiple sclerosis and several neurodegenerative disorders. |
