GenoMed, Inc. Announces Drug Therapy Which May Avoid Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation in Neonates
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenoMed, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: GMED) ("the Company" or "GenoMed"), a St. Louis, Missouri-based medical genomics biotechnology company, announced today a new drug treatment that has the potential to avoid prolong mechanical ventilation in newborns born prematurely with inadequate lung development.
Based on research conducted by Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's Chairman and Chief Medical Officer, the drug regimen could avoid the need for prolonged mechanical ventilation in newborns whose lungs failed to develop adequately. The treatment involves a growth factor that is present throughout pregnancy in the amniotic fluid, and which causes normal lung development. Dr. Moskowitz's research established the precise values of the growth factor, epidermal growth factor, at different times in pregnancy. Right before a child is born, the level of the growth factor doubles, probably accounting for the burst in lung development that normally happens before birth. In babies born prematurely, this last burst of lung development fails to occur, and they must be kept on mechanical ventilation for weeks at a time, at great expense.
This specific treatment has not been used before in humans, although animal studies have already shown promise. The treatment will require well- designed clinical trials and FDA approval before it can be used widely. The advantage of Dr. Moskowitz's data is that the levels of epidermal growth factor normally present can be used in clinical trials. In this way, just enough growth factor can be used to achieve the desired effect (proper lung development), but higher doses can be avoided, with their risk for unwanted side effects. On August 13, 2001, Genomed filed its first application for world-wide patent protection involving epidermal growth factor to hasten lung development during pregnancy or in the newborn period, and ramipril to treat pulmonary hypertension in the newborn.
"There are several conditions responsible for inadequate lung development in babies," says Dr. Moskowitz. "Epidermal growth factor, at the right dose, should be able to reverse most of these problems. What's surprising is that the fetal kidneys release epidermal growth factor into the urine, which is all that amniotic fluid is -- fetal urine -- even before the 16th week of pregnancy. This explains why children whose kidneys don't develop normally also don't have normal lung development (called Potter's syndrome). Their mothers have too little amniotic fluid. But it's not just the fluid, it's the growth factor in the fluid, that's important to replace. Knowing what levels of epidermal growth factor need to be in amniotic fluid throughout pregnancy should help physicians achieve normal lung development. In babies who are suddenly born prematurely, we will know what level of epidermal growth factor to instill in their ventilator fluid. This treatment should improve on the current treatment, which is to instill surfactant in the ventilator fluid, since epidermal growth factor causes lung cells to make surfactant. We look forward eagerly to collaborating with obstetricians and neonatalogists to prove that these treatments will work."
Dr. Moskowitz, a nephrologist trained at Harvard, Oxford and Washington University in St. Louis, was formerly a staff physician at the St. Louis VA Medical Center and assistant professor at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "The mission of GenoMed is to serve as a Next Generation Disease Management(TM) company, translating insights about how disease is caused into better treatments for patients," Dr. Moskowitz said. "We already have compelling data that is valuable to patients, their physicians, and health care payers, and which offers potentially enormous cost savings."
About GenoMed
GenoMed is a biotech company based in St. Louis, Missouri, that is working to translate knowledge of disease pathways into better patient outcomes as rapidly and safely as possible. Building on its initial discoveries and success, GenoMed is dedicated to (1) identifying additional disease-associated genes and pathways; (2) working on new treatments using existing drugs whenever possible; and, (3) developing new drugs when necessary to stop disease-causing pathways. GenoMed's stock ticker symbol is GMED.
For additional information, please visit www.genomedics.com and/or contact Krissy Fischer at 1-877-GENOMED or e-mail at kfischer@genomedics.com for additional written information pertaining to GenoMed.
SOURCE GenoMed, Inc.
CONTACT: Krissy Fischer of GenoMed, Inc., +1-877-GENOMED, or e-mail, kfischer@genomedics.com
Web site: genomedics.com
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