good news today on Regen Therapeutics
RNS Number:8809Q
ReGen Therapeutics PLC
06 September 2005
ReGen Acquires Rights To New Use for Well Known Drug
6th September 2005
ReGen Therapeutics Plc ('ReGen' or 'the Company') announces that it has entered
into an exclusive option arrangement with Sciencom a private company, which has
discovered an important new use for zolpidem, a long-established drug, currently
marketed for the treatment of insomnia. A patent application has been filed to
cover this new use.
A significant body of 'open' clinical case observations has shown that zolpidem
can normalise areas of brain dormancy secondary to a primary lesion in brain
damage conditions e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury, vascular dementia and
Bell's palsy. The clinical effects of this dormancy reversal have been
restoration of consciousness, swallowing, co-ordination and motor function after
stroke and traumatic brain injury. Given that stroke alone is the largest single
cause of severe disability in England and Wales, with over 250,000 people being
affected at any one time, the Company believes that this represents a
significant medical and commercial opportunity.
This reversal of dormancy has been visualised by SPECT brain scanning on dosing
with zolpidem. The clinical effect is generally proportional to the size and
position of the dormant area and correlates with drug levels in the brain/
plasma. Whilst to date these effects have been achieved with existing
formulations these are less than ideal for the new use, with sedation as a
significant limiting factor. ReGen is therefore looking to develop new
formulations to optimise the delivery of this important clinical benefit to a
diverse range of patients.
With this in mind, ReGen is managing a feasibility study. Assuming the success
of this study ReGen will undertake several studies, in collaboration with its
recently acquired subsidiary Guildford Clinical Pharmacology Unit Ltd, designed
to demonstrate clinical proof of principle. Positive results in these studies
will trigger a shares only option payment to Sciencom and the results will be
used to find a commercial partner to complete formulation, clinical development
and marketing.
Commenting, Percy Lomax, Regen Chairman and Chief Executive said 'We are pleased
to announce the acquisition of rights to this project, consistent with our
previously stated intention of building our business to both diversify risk and
increase value for our shareholders. Our estimates suggest that the total
potential world market is around $5bn per annum. It is important to note that
this project could be in clinical trials very early next year.'
For more information, please contact:
Andrew Marshall
Marshall Robinson Roe
Tel No 020 7960 6007
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