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Biotech / Medical : CRIS, Curis (formerly CBMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SemiBull who wrote (508)	2/9/2004 9:18:14 PM
From: SemiBull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 668

BMP-7 Prevents Bone Disease in a Model of Chronic Kidney Failure Monday February 9, 8:29 am ET BMP-7 drug candidate, developed by Curis and licensed to Ortho Biotech, shows promise as an adjunct therapy for dialysis patients CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2004-- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS - News), a therapeutic drug development company, today announced that the current issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology contains an article describing studies in which administration of BMP-7 prevents the development of adynamic bone disease in a preclinical model of chronic kidney failure. Adynamic bone disease is a serious complication of chronic kidney disease for which there is no adequate treatment. BMP-7 is a signaling protein that is made in the kidney and has been implicated in the maintenance of the normal health of the kidney, the skeleton, and the vascular system. Several years ago, Dr. Keith Hruska and his colleagues in the renal divisions of the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri developed a hypothesis that the loss of BMP-7 due to kidney failure may be one of the contributing causes of metabolic bone diseases that are known to occur in kidney failure patients. Keith Hruska, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, commented, "This current study and our previous studies have demonstrated that kidney failure has a profound negative effect on the health and integrity of the skeleton. The consequences of developing metabolic bone disease for kidney failure patients on dialysis are severe and can be life-threatening. The demonstration in preclinical models that treatment with BMP-7 can prevent metabolic bone disease is very encouraging. I believe BMP-7 is a promising drug development candidate for the kidney failure dialysis patient population." In November 2002, Curis granted an exclusive worldwide license to Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., a Johnson & Johnson company, for the continued development of the BMP-7 kidney disease product candidate. Ortho Biotech is a pharmaceutical company with broad expertise in protein based therapeutic drug development and has an established presence in the kidney disease marketplace. Ortho Biotech paid Curis an up-front license fee and has assumed all costs and responsibility for product development of BMP-7. Curis will receive clinical milestone payments and royalties on product sales if a BMP-based therapy is successfully developed. About Curis, Inc. Curis, Inc. is a therapeutic drug development company. The Company's technology focus is on regulatory pathways that control repair and regeneration. Curis' product development involves the use of proteins or small molecules to modulate these pathways. Curis has successfully used this technology and product development approach to produce several promising drug product candidates in the fields of kidney disease, neurological disorders, cancer, alopecia, and cardiovascular disease. For more information, please visit the Curis web site at www.curis.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Curis' drug discovery and development programs. Such statements may contain the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "seeks", "estimates" or similar expressions. These forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause Curis' actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Actual results can be affected by a number of important factors including, among other things: adverse results in Curis' and its strategic partners' product development programs; difficulties or delays in obtaining or maintaining required regulatory approvals; Curis' ability to obtain or maintain the patent and other proprietary intellectual property protection necessary for the development and commercialization of products based on its technologies; changes in or Curis' inability to execute its realigned business strategy; the risk that Curis does not obtain the additional funding required to conduct research and development of its product candidates and execute on its business plan; unplanned cash requirements and expenditures; risks relating to Curis' ability to enter into and maintain important strategic partnerships, including its ability to maintain its current collaboration agreements with Genentech, Ortho and Wyeth; the risk that competitors will discover and develop signaling pathway-based therapeutics faster and more successfully that Curis and its collaborators are able to; and other risk factors identified in Curis' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on 10-Q and any subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Curis disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact: Curis, Inc. Michael Gray, 617-503-6632 Marc Charette, Ph.D., 617-503-6629 Source: Curis, Inc.