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Biotech / Medical : NPSP NPS Pharmaceutical -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: biowa who wrote (63)	1/30/2000 9:06:00 PM
From: WTDEC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 363

Friday January 28, 6:59 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NPS Pharmaceuticals Presents Positive Results from Space Shuttle Experiments SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists at NPS Allelix Corp. (Nasdaq: NPSP - news; a subsidiary of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) in collaboration with scientists and astronauts at NASA designed and conducted bone growth studies on NASA's space shuttle Discovery. The results presented at the NASA/NIH meeting in Washington, D.C. on Friday, demonstrated for the first time that normal osteoblasts, the cells responsible for bone growth, were able to produce new bone within the microgravity environment of space. Moreover, NPS's potential anti-osteoporosis drug ALX1-11 was shown to enhance this growth by 68 percent. The rapid loss of bone mass encountered by astronauts in space has long been a concern and a significant limitation to the long-term duration of space travel. These experiments showed that a key biological mechanism contributing to decreased bone mass is a reduction in the ability of osteoblasts to produce bone in space. Cells cultured on the space shuttle Discovery produced approximately 22 percent less bone relative to counterparts grown under normal gravity conditions on Earth. This is consistent with previous estimates of a 4 to 10-fold more rapid rate of decline in bone mass in space relative to Earth. These experiments, sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency and overseen by payload specialist, former Sen. John H. Glenn, provided a unique and valuable environment to better understand space induced bone loss as well as presenting a model system to study the causes and potential treatments of osteoporosis on Earth. ``These data confirm the stimulation of bone formation by ALX1-11 in osteoblasts in space as previously shown on Earth,' said Dennis Sindrey, Principal Scientist for the ALX1-11 project at NPS Allelix. ``In addition, data illustrate the role of gravity in the complex process of bone growth.' ALX1-11 has been shown to be effective in reversing bone loss suffered by patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. A Phase II clinical trial with 200 postmenopausal women given daily doses of 100 micrograms exhibited an average increase in spinal bone density of approximately 7 percent after a 12-month period. This is a significant improvement over current treatments. This compound is scheduled to enter Phase III clinical trials in the second quarter of year 2000. NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / NPS Allelix, in the US and Canada respectively, are engaged in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs that are intended to address a variety of important diseases. The company is developing therapies for treating hyperparathyroidism with Kirin Brewery and Amgen Inc., and an additional therapy for treating osteoporosis is being developed with SmithKline Beecham. In addition, NPS has partnerships with Eli Lilly and Janssen that address various CNS disorders, and an ongoing clinical development program in epilepsy and bipolar disorder. For more information please see the company's website at npsp.com. Note: Statements included within this press release, which are not historical in nature, constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described herein. Careful consideration should be given to cautionary statements made in NPS documents filed with the SEC, in particular the company's 10K. CONTACT: David L. Clark, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Development of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 801-583-4939. SOURCE: NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.