Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : YEEHAW CANDIDATES -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sergio H who wrote (1117)	1/21/2003 8:52:49 AM
From: JoeinIowa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23958

Keep an eye on ALT today. Alteon's ALT-711 Reduces Left Ventricular Mass in Diamond Trial Patients Tuesday January 21, 8:15 am ET - Positive Results from Preliminary Analyses Support Drug's Potential in DHF - RAMSEY, N.J., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alteon Inc. (Amex: ALT - News) today announced positive results from a preliminary analysis of the Phase IIa DIAMOND clinical trial evaluating the activity of ALT-711 in diastolic heart failure (DHF) patients. The DIAMOND trial is ongoing, and additional analyses of the data are being conducted. Patients who received ALT-711 for 16 weeks experienced a statistically significant reduction in left ventricular mass, in a preliminary analysis of the first 17 patients in the DIAMOND trial. DIAMOND patients also had a marked improvement in left ventricular diastolic filling. Additionally, the drug had a positive effect on patients' quality of life, as measured by a well-established heart failure/quality of life questionnaire. Measurements of exercise tolerance and aortic distensibility proved to be more variable than anticipated for a study of this size and were not reportable. "These results have importance because DHF is the most common form of heart failure in the elderly population. To date, there is no proven specific therapy," said Dalane W. Kitzman, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and an investigator in the trial. "Though this was a small pilot study, these data suggest that ALT-711 may be useful in this disorder." Dr. Kitzman's research, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Annals of Internal Medicine, has been critical to the characterization and identification of diastolic heart failure as a more common condition than previously thought, particularly in people aged 65 and older, and especially in women.(1,2) DHF is a poorly treated medical condition that is characterized by the inability of the heart to relax properly and fill with blood, due to stiffening of the heart and subsequent impaired relaxation of the left ventricle. Diastolic dysfunction is estimated to account for 30-50% of all heart failure cases, which total nearly 5 million cases in the U.S. alone. "The results of the DIAMOND trial are important to Alteon because we have seen another meaningful signal of ALT-711's beneficial effect in cardiovascular disease, and offer additional guidance for the clinical program that lies ahead," said Kenneth I. Moch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alteon. "These findings are consistent with previous preclinical work which demonstrated ALT-711's ability to remodel the diseased heart." The DIAMOND (Distensibility Improvement and Remodeling in Diastolic Heart Failure) study was conducted at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina in patients at least 60 years of age with isolated DHF. In the DIAMOND trial, twenty-three patients received 210 mg of ALT-711 twice daily on an open-label, outpatient basis for 16 weeks in addition to their current medications, which included ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II antagonists, beta-blockers and diuretics. Primary endpoints included changes in exercise tolerance and aortic stiffness; effects on left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic filling and quality of life (QOL) were also assessed. "We look forward to the presentation of the detailed data from the DIAMOND trial in an appropriate scientific forum and journal," said Moch, "and to reporting results from the ongoing Phase IIb SAPPHIRE and SILVER trials of ALT-711 in systolic hypertension later this year." ALT-711 offers promise as a novel therapy for DHF because currently available therapies do not specifically target the stiffening heart and vessel walls caused by pathological glucose-protein matrixes called Advanced Glycosylation End-product (A.G.E.) Crosslinks. The formation of A.G.E. Crosslinks is a natural part of the aging process that can lead to stiffening and loss of function in tissues, organs and vessels including the heart and large arteries. In previous human clinical testing, ALT-711 has shown the ability to restore elasticity to blood vessel walls by cleaving A.G.E. Crosslinks.(3) Additionally, in several preclinical studies ALT-711 has been shown to normalize the thickening of the left ventricle and remodel the heart.(4) ALT-711 is currently in two additional human clinical trials. The Phase IIb SAPPHIRE and SILVER trials have enrolled over 760 patients in order to evaluate the compound's effectiveness in patients with elevated systolic blood pressure without or with enlargement of the left ventricle of the heart. Like diastolic heart failure, systolic hypertension results from age-related or diabetes-related stiffening of the cardiovascular system, and is a key factor in coronary heart disease in individuals over the age of 50. Alteon Conference Call Alteon is holding an analyst/investor conference call today, January 21, 2003, at 2:00 PM, Eastern Time. To access this call live, please dial 1-800-915-4836. Callers outside of the United States, please call +973-317-5319. This call will be archived on the Company's website at alteon.com and will be rebroadcast until January 28, 2003 at 11:59 PM, at 1-800-428-6051, passcode 283288. Callers outside of the United States, please call +973-709-2089, passcode 283288.