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Biotech / Medical : INCR -- Incara Pharmaceuticals -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mopgcw who wrote (179)	8/15/2002 8:40:59 PM
From: mopgcw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196

Study Published in Journal Diabetes Shows Incara's Catalytic Antioxidant Increases Yield of Human Pancreatic Islets Incara Prepares to Launch Reagent Product for Research Use By Transplant Centers RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The addition of Incara Pharmaceuticals Corporation's (Nasdaq: INCR - News) catalytic antioxidant AEOL 10113 or AEOL 10150 increased the number of islets recovered from donated human pancreata by 2 to 3 fold. Furthermore, fewer donor islets were required to normalize blood sugar levels in a mouse model of diabetes when the islets were treated with AEOL 10150. The pancreata obtained for this study did not meet current criteria for acceptance for islet transplant procedures, suggesting that the number of useable organs for islet transplant may also be expanded by use of the catalytic antioxidants. Dr. Jon Piganelli, with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and co-authors published these findings in the August 2002 issue of Diabetes (diabetes.diabetesjournals.org ). "Use of our catalytic antioxidants increases the yield of human islets, reduces the number of islets required for transplant, and allows isolation of islets from a greater number of donated pancreata," said Clayton Duncan, CEO of Incara. "We have begun to receive requests from clinical investigators for the compounds. Assuming adequate financing, we plan to make this important reagent available for use late this year for non-human research. Early next year we intend to make it available to physicians with IND (Investigational New Drug) programs for human islet transplant to treat Type 1 diabetes." Islets are anatomical structures in the pancreas that contain beta cells, which make and secrete insulin to regulate blood sugar levels. Islet transplantation, a potentially curative treatment for Type 1 diabetes, is limited by the ability to isolate enough functional human islets from donors. Currently, islets from two to three organ donors are needed to perform a transplant into one patient. An agent that can significantly increase the number of functional human islets available for transplantation and improve the ability of islets to control blood sugar levels upon transplant would represent an important advance in islet transplant treatment. Type 1 or juvenile diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreatic beta cells, which produce and release insulin, are destroyed. Type 1 diabetics are dependent on daily insulin injections to stay alive. Onset usually occurs during adolescence or young adulthood. Diabetic complications include blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage and amputations. Diabetics also have an increased risk of stroke or heart disease. There are up to one million Type 1 diabetics in the United States with about 30,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Islet transplant is an experimental procedure in which human islets are isolated from the pancreas of organ donors and placed in the liver of the recipient. The transplanted islets engraft into the liver and regulate the recipient's blood sugar without the need for daily insulin injections. Incara Pharmaceuticals Corporation (www.incara.com) is focused on disease therapies based on tissue protection, repair and regeneration. The company is developing a series of catalytic antioxidants as treatments for damage occurring in cancer radiation therapy and stroke and for protection of cells in transplantation. Incara is also developing liver cell therapy for treatment of liver failure. In addition, in a business venture with Elan Corporation, Incara is conducting a Phase 2/3 multicenter clinical trial for deligoparin, an ultra-low molecular weight heparin being developed for treatment of ulcerative colitis.