One day (year 2022?),....
Wednesday April 5, 8:47 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Scientists Report Regeneron's Angiopoietin-1 Can Protect Blood Vessels Against Damage and Leak
Study Highlights Risks of Treatment with VEGF Alone
TARRYTOWN, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2000--Scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN - news), in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), report in a study featured on the cover of the April 2000 issue of Nature Medicine that Angiopoietin-1 protects blood vessels against damage and leak in preclinical investigations.
In the study, inflammatory agents and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), an angiogenic growth factor, caused significant damage and leaking in blood vessels. Treatment with Angiopoietin-1 protected blood vessels against this damage and leak. Angiopoietin-1 is a naturally occurring human protein that was discovered and patented by Regeneron scientists.
The ability to protect blood vessels against damage and leak has many potential clinical applications, since vessel damage and leak are characteristic of many diseases, such as stroke, arthritis, asthma, and diabetic retinopathy. Angiopoietin-1 is the first example of a naturally occurring growth factor that can block the effects of agents that cause blood vessels to leak. This newly identified capability of Angiopoietin-1 is consistent with its previously demonstrated critical role in normal blood vessel formation, and suggests that any attempts to grow new blood vessels, such as in ischemic heart disease, might require use of Angiopoietin-1 to prevent the generation of leaky and fragile vessels.
Background
Just as the pipes of a house supply different parts of the house with water, blood vessels supply different parts of the body with blood and oxygen. And like the pipes of a house, two major problems can occur with blood vessels -- they can become clogged or they can leak. In many diseases, blood vessels become blocked, resulting in low blood flow, or ischemia, and low oxygen levels, or hypoxia. Ischemia in the heart leads to angina and heart attacks. Ischemia in the limbs and other tissues often accompanies diabetes, leading to poorly healing ulcers and muscle pain. In other diseases, blood vessels may become defective and start to leak plasma, the part of blood that lacks red blood cells. Plasma leakage can result in swelling, or edema, and can cause major problems in the eye (in diabetic retinopathy), in joints (in arthritis), in airways (in asthma), in the brain (associated with tumors or strokes), in sepsis, and in many other inflammatory settings.
The first naturally occurring growth factor identified by scientists as capable of stimulating the growth of blood vessels was Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor. Since the discovery of VEGF almost twenty years ago, scientists have hoped to use VEGF to grow new and well-functioning blood vessels that could supply blood to ischemic tissues, a process termed therapeutic angiogenesis. Many clinical trials have been initiated using VEGF, but preclinical studies point to an emerging problem with VEGF: vessels formed with VEGF alone are immature, leaky, and fragile.
Regeneron scientists recently discovered a second family of angiogenic growth factors, termed the Angiopoietins, that the body uses in conjunction with VEGF to grow normal blood vessels. In a series of papers over the last three years, Regeneron scientists reported the discovery of four members of the Angiopoietin family and explained their necessary roles in normal blood vessel formation. They proposed that therapeutic angiogenesis may require coordinated use of VEGF and Angiopoietins.
In the December 24, 1999, issue of Science, Regeneron and UCSF scientists described animal experiments that show that VEGF and Angiopoietin-1 combine to promote much more dramatic vascular growth than either factor alone. The scientists also reported that combining Angiopoietin-1 with VEGF corrected some of the blood vessel defects seen with VEGF alone and allowed vessels to mature properly and become resistant to vascular leak. This suggested that Angiopoietin-1 could be used not only for therapeutic angiogenesis in ischemic diseases, but also to correct defective and leaky vessels in other diseases.
In support of this potential therapeutic use of Angiopoietin-1, the current Nature Medicine study demonstrates that acute administration of Angiopoietin-1 to adult mice with mature blood vessels can make their blood vessels resistant to damage and leak caused by inflammatory agents and VEGF.
Regeneron is collaborating with The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG - news) in the research and development of the Angiopoietins. Any products resulting from this collaboration are expected to be commercialized jointly worldwide and the profits shared equally.
Regeneron is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and intends to commercialize therapeutic drugs for the treatment of serious medical conditions. Regeneron's platform technologies include Targeted Genomics(TM), Functionomics(TM), and Designer Protein Therapeutics(TM). Regeneron has drugs in clinical and preclinical development for the potential treatment of obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, allergies, asthma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, constipating conditions, ischemia, and other diseases and disorders.
This news release discusses historical information and includes forward-looking statements about Regeneron and about its products, programs, finances, and business, all of which involve a number of risks and uncertainties, such as risks associated with preclinical and clinical development of drugs and biologics, determinations by regulatory and administrative governmental authorities, competitive factors, technological developments, the availability and cost of capital, the costs of developing, producing, and selling products, the potential for any collaboration agreement to be canceled or to terminate without any product success, and other material risks. A more complete description of these risks can be found in Regeneron's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 1999, a copy of which should be read before making any investment decision regarding Regeneron common stock. Regeneron does not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Additional information about Regeneron and recent news releases are available on Regeneron's Worldwide Web Home Page at www.regeneron.com. Fax copies of news releases can be obtained from Regeneron's News-on-Demand Service by dialing (800) 311-0841. |
