Any comment on the latest:
BIOTECH Holdings Ltd.
400 - 1501 W. Broadway
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6J 4Z6
Telephone 604 736 8532
Fax 604 736 3806
Website: www.biotechltd.com
e-mail: biotech@direct.ca
June 26, 1998
Dear Mr. Romano:
I would like to provide you with some additional information on Biotech Holdings Ltd. and its new drug, DIAB II, for Type II Diabetes and Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT).
Accompanying please find a quotation from a recent Deutsche Morgen Grenfell report on the market for drugs treating Type II Diabetes and IGT.
The Deutsche Morgen Grenfell report dicusses a new treatment approach which aims at controlling patients' blood sugar levels by improving their sensitivity to insulin. This is the approach that has been taken by Biotech with its drug, DIAB II.
The Deutsche Morgen Grenfell review focuses particularly on SmithKline Beecham's "Avandia" but covers other drugs as well, including DIAB II.
The report sees the insulin sensitizer market as growing strongly, to over $5 billion (US) in value by 2003, and projects Biotech's sales of its insulin sensitizer at $199 million (US) in that year.
If you would like further information on Biotech or DIAB II, please call the undersigned at 1 888 216 1111, toll-free, Pacific time 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sincerely,
Austin Rand, Corporate Communications/Biotech
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From Deutsche Morgen Grenfell report, April 22, 1998
quote:
Other Insulin Sensitizers
Diab II: an insulin sensitizer with a novel mechanism of action
The only insulin sensitizer that is not a PPAR agonist is Biotech Holdings' DIAB II.
Diab II is a small molecule which enhances the binding of insulin to its cell surface receptors and their subsequent internalisation (Figure 5). Thus cells are effectively resensitized to the actions of insulin, promoting the internalisation of glucose and the complementary activation of enzymes involved in glucose storage and utilisation. DIAB II benefits from the same advantages that the PPAR agonists enjoy over sulphonylureas, including an effective reduction in the levels of cholesterol and fats circulating in the blood, which reduces the risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Furthermore, there are no reports of any problematic side-effects since marketing of the product began in China in February 1997.
With a suitable marketing partner, the outlook for DIAB II appears extremely promising, especially if further liver side-effect problems with the PPAR agonists are discovered. Biotech Holdings plans to launch the product in South America and the Caribbean by the end of 1988. Discussions are underway to find partners in North America, Europe and Japan.
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