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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SPSEIFERT who wrote (29139)	8/14/1999 3:27:00 AM
From: Cheryl Galt	Respond to of 32384

Here's the article -- promising pre-clinical research: PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 13-- Penn, MCP Hahnemann University Study Suggests that a Class of Diabetes Drugs Can Also Cure Ulcerative Colitis Research conducted at MCP Hahnemann University was pivotal in a recent study by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania showing that a class of anti-diabetic agents can virtually cure ulcerative colitis in mice. The study will appear in the August 16 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The drug rosiglitazone, commonly used for treating Type II diabetes, was found to reduce signs of ulcerative colitis in mice, which are traditional tools for testing developing therapies. Dr. Sreekant Murthy, professor of medicine and director of the Krancer Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research at MCP Hahnemann University, was instrumental in honing the dextran sulfate mouse model of colitis for testing drugs. Penn researcher Dr. Gary Wu, head of the study, collaborated with Murthy in the testing. The Krancer Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research funded this portion of the research. "It is a novel discovery that anti-diabetic agents are also effective for treating ulcerative colitis. Based on animal studies, and mechanisms of actions of this drug, there is optimism that this method of therapy may be very useful for treating ulcerative colitis. But we need to temper our enthusiasm since sometimes drugs effective in animals may not necessarily prove to be equally effective in humans," Murthy said. Human studies are in progress at the Penn's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center. An estimated one million people suffer from ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon, and Crohn's disease, which affects the entire gastrointestinal tract. These diseases have been difficult to cure through standard therapies, according to Murthy. "The drug is almost curative in (the mice)," Wu said. "I don't think we could have much of a better indication that we should proceed forward" in human trials. According to the study, many anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals have been studied in the DSS model of colitis which show efficacy paralleling the clinical response observed in humans. The results with rosiglitazone show a greater level of therapeutic efficacy than that observed with standard therapy. Murthy is internationally known for his research related to inflammatory bowel diseases. His laboratory is one of the nation's premier centers for testing developing therapies discovered by researchers at leading pharmaceutical companies. To interview Murthy over the weekend, contact him at the following numbers: (home) 609/589-3098 or (cell phone) 215/651-2213. News media contact: Preston Moretz, 215/288/8315 (home) or 215/895-1715 (work). CONTACT: Drexel University, Philadelphia Preston Moretz, 215/895-1715 KEYWORD: PENNSYLVANIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MEDICINE EDUCATION