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NEW YORK (Dec. 17) BUSINESS WIRE -Dec. 17, 1996--
Early Indications Suggest Oligozyme Is More Potent Than 3TC Hepatitis
B Is Widespread Disease With No Broadly-Accepted Therapy
Speaking at the Sixth Anti-Sense Conference earlier this month in
Tsukuba Science City, Japan, Allan Goldberg, Chairman and CEO of Innovir
Laboratories, Inc., (NASDAQ SmallCap: INVR) revealed promising new
results for the Company's proprietary EGS (External Guide Sequence)
Oligozyme technology in the fight against hepatitis B. The conference,
a major Japanese biotechnology event, was organized by Professor
Kazunari Taira, of the University of Tsukuba, and Professor Hiroshi
Takaku, of the Chiba Institute of Technology. In a transaction expected
to close shortly, Innovir and VIMRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ
SmallCap: VMRX) recently announced an agreement whereby VIMRx agreed to
buy 66 percent of Innovir and Innovir agreed to buy a subsidiary of
VIMRx.
Dr. Goldberg, in a talk entitled "Harnessing the Ribozyme RNase P to
Develop Therapeutics," discussed several key advances in the Company's
research. Of general importance was the announcement that Oligozymes --
catalytically active oligomers that can be designed to target specific
messenger RNA molecules in cells that are responsible for producing
disease -- can block hepatitis B virus (HBV) growth in cells and animal
models. Hepatitis B is a widespread and serious viral disease for which
there is currently no broadly effective therapy.
Dr. Goldberg announced these specific developments in his presentation:
-- In cell cultures, Innovir's EGS Oligozymes reduced the amount of HBV
viral DNA to undetectable levels, a decrease of at least a hundred-fold
relative to untreated control cultures. -- Oligozymes inhibited HBV
growth in cell cultures with more than ten times the potency of 3TC,
currently the leading drug being developed to treat hepatitis B. --
Initial results in a mouse model that produces hepatitis B virus
demonstrate that the Innovir Oligozyme tested is also a potent inhibitor
of HBV growth in animals. -- Innovir's Oligozymes could be reduced in
size relative to conventional ribozymes without reducing effectiveness,
thereby reducing synthesis costs and creating a more cost-effective
means of fighting diseases. -- The Oligozymes could be effectively
delivered to both human cells in culture and to laboratory animals at
the site of HBV infection using the Company's proprietary delivery
compounds, trademarked as InnoPhor(TM).
Dr. Goldberg said: "As my conference presentation indicates, we are
extremely pleased by the progress we have made with our Oligozyme
technology. The possibility of targeting diseases using External Guide
Sequence (EGS) Oligozymes is becoming more of a reality as we work our
way through the requisite animal models."
Richard Dunning, President and CEO of VIMRx, which owns a controlling
interest in Innovir, stated: "This is exactly the kind of exciting,
verifiable progress that we expected when we bought into Innovir and
combined our in-house Oligozyme team with theirs. We are very pleased
with the results in cell cultures and with the initiation of therapeutic
evaluation in animal models of HBV -- a widespread disease for which
there is no broadly-accepted therapy and so will continue to investigate
this important application as well as others."
VIMRx, based in Wilmington, DE, is currently developing two technology
platforms: chemically synthesized hypericin, VIMRxyn(R), and, through
its ownership position in Innovir Laboratories, Inc.,
catalytically-active Oligozymes. VIMRxyn(R) is currently in clinical
development for the treatment of HIV and brain cancer and is in
pre-clinical development for the treatment of hepatitis C and the
sterilization of blood. The Oligozyme technology being developed by
VIMRx and Innovir has potential uses both in attacking diseases at the
genetic level, and as a broadly-applicable tool in pharmaceutical
research to aid in drug target identification and validation. VIMRx
also intends to be active in identifying and acquiring additional
technologies and products.
Innovir Laboratories, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing
External Guide Sequences (EGSs), which the Company believes will be a
broad enabling technology based upon the Nobel Prize-winning research by
Sidney Altman, Ph.D., Sterling Professor of Biology at Yale University.
The Company has an exclusive license to develop this patented technology
for new therapeutic applications. In addition to hepatitis B, Innovir's
initial disease target areas include psoriasis, inflammation and
drug-resistant microorganisms. The Company is also investigating the
application of its EGS technology for agricultural uses. NOTE TO
INVESTORS AND EDITORS: VIMRx's press releases are available on the
Internet through Business Wire's web site at
businesswire.com. The releases also are
available at no charge through Business Wire's fax-on-demand service at
800-411-8792.
This news release contains forward looking statements which involve
risks and uncertainties. Such statements are subject to certain risk
factors which may cause the Company's plans to differ. Factors that may
cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the progress and
success of the Company's research and development programs, the
Company's ability to: obtain additional funds; secure regulatory
approval to market its products; compete successfully; successfully
enter into collaborations with third parties; enter into and progress in
clinical trials; establish development and commercialization
relationships; manufacture product in a cost-effective manner; and those
other risk factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" included
in the Company's Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Form S-1
Registration Statement (Reg. No. 33-63142).
--30--sdg/ny*
CONTACT: Walter Montgomery or Mary Ann Dunnell
(212) 484-6721
or
Fran Daniels
(310) 278-4413
KEYWORD: NEW YORK DELAWARE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MEDICINE BIOTECHNOLOGY
REPEATS: New York 212-752-9600 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-236-4266 or
800-225-2030; SF 415-986-4422 or 800-227-0845; LA 310-820-9473
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