Proteo, Inc. / Proteo Biotech AG: Major advances in the elafin development program for lung diseases - NIH supports research on Elafin with a $10.8 million grant
DGAP-News: Proteo Biotech AG / Schlagwort(e): Research Update/Studie
Proteo, Inc. / Proteo Biotech AG: Major advances in the elafin
development program for lung diseases - NIH supports research on
Elafin with a $10.8 million grant
06.12.2011 / 11:44
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Proteo, Inc. / Proteo Biotech AG:
Major advances in the elafin development program for lung diseases - NIH
supports research on Elafin with a $10.8 million grant
Irvine, CA - Kiel, December 6, 2011 - Proteo, Inc. (OTCQB: PTEO;
Freiverkehr Frankfurt: WKN: 925981) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Proteo
Biotech AG announced today: Since 2008, the Company cooperates with
scientists at Stanford University in California with respect to the
preclinical development in the field of pulmonary arterial hypertension and
ventilator-induced lung injury. In August 2010 the cooperation agreement
with Stanford University was extended by a further project on lung
transplantation.
In 2011 the Stanford team led by Marlene Rabinovitch and Richard Bland
published two major advances in research on pulmonary arterial hypertension
and ventilator-induced lung injury in the American Journal of Pathology and
the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine: They showed
for the first time in an animal model of pulmonary arterial hypertension
that human leukocyte elastase is produced by pulmonary arterial smooth
muscle cells. Administration of Proteo's elastase inhibitor Elafin
attenuated the development of the typical vascular lesions for this
disease, pointing towards a therapeutic potential of Elafin. In independent
experiments they showed that intratracheal Elafin treatment attenuated lung
structural abnormalities noted in mechanically ventilated newborn mice.
These findings support the assumption that Elafin might be used
therapeutically to prevent ventilator-induced lung injury in newborns.
In the third quarter of 2011 the Stanford School of Medicine research team
led by Marlene Rabinovitch, MD, has been awarded a five-year, $10.8 million
grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for the study of
Elafin's ability to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension,
ventilator-induced lung injury in newborns and lung transplant rejections.
The Stanford team will test whether Elafin prevents such lung damage or
promotes healing of damaged tissue in these three lung diseases. The grant
will fund one project for each disease, all three of which are notoriously
difficult to treat. Rabinovitch will lead Project 1 on pulmonary
hypertension, or elevated blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood
to the lungs, which kills more than 60 percent of patients within five
years of diagnosis. Project 2 will focus on ventilator-induced injury of
the immature lung, which causes lasting lung damage in premature babies.
This project will be led by Richard Bland, MD, Professor in the Division of
Newborn Medicine of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford. Project 3,
which is to be led by Mark Nicolls, MD, associate professor of pulmonary
and critical care medicine and chief of the Division of Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine, examines chronic lung transplant rejection, which
leads lung transplant recipients to have the worst survival statistics of
all organ recipients.
'Our project was sparked by exciting preclinical data indicating that the
elastase inhibitor Elafin can be used to treat three of the most
challenging lung conditions: pulmonary hypertension, ventilator-induced
injury of the immature lung and lung transplant rejection,' said
Rabinovitch, who is Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric
Cardiology at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Further information on the clinical development program for Elafin:
Proteo's pharmaceutical Elafin is a copy of a naturally occurring human
anti-inflammatory substance. It is a natural antagonist of the tissue
destroying enzymes (proteases) that participate in the inflammatory
mechanism of many diseases. Elafin's ability to block the enzymes that
cause these undesirable effects makes it a promising drug for the treatment
of e.g. inflammatory lung diseases and severe reperfusion injury. The
excellent tolerability of intravenously administered recombinant Elafin has
already been demonstrated convincingly in a Phase I clinical trial. The
outcome of a Phase II clinical trial on the treatment of postoperative
inflammatory reactions in esophagus carcinoma show that intravenously
administered Elafin has a very clear positive effect on the period of
recovery: 63 percent of the Elafin treated patients required only one day
of intensive care. All patients in the placebo group needed several days of
postoperative intensive medical care. In addition, Proteo's licensing and
development partner, Minapharm Pharmaceuticals SAE, has initiated a Phase
II clinical trial on the use of Elafin for kidney transplantation patients.
This trial is concerned with the prevention of acute organ rejection and
chronic graft injury (allograft nephropathy). A further clinical trial -
EMPIRE (Elafin Myocardial Protection from Ischaemia Reperfusion Injury), a
placebo-controlled, double-blinded, monocentric Phase-II study with 80
patients - has been started in the third quarter of 2011. The study is
being performed under the supervision of the cardiologist Dr. Peter
Henriksen at NHS Lothian's Edinburgh Heart Centre in association with The
University of Edinburgh, one of the leading European universities in the
area of cardiovascular research. The study is funded by the Medical
Research Council (MRC) and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) with
funding in excess of 500,000 GBP.
About Proteo:
The company researches, develops and markets compounds for biological and
medical research as well as for use as pharmaceuticals. The main focus is
on anti-inflammatory drugs, in particular on the human protease inhibitor
Elafin. Proteo intends to out-license selected indications and to establish
international strategic alliances in order to open up new fields of
application and for marketing. (www.proteo.de).
Forward-looking statements:
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking
information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933
and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to
the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than
statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation,
statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company,
are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There
can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Technical complications that may arise
could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant
plan(s) outlined above. The company cautions that these forward looking
statements and risks and uncertainties involved are further qualified by
other factors including, but not limited to those set forth in the
company's Form 10-K filing and other filings with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Barbara Kahlke, Ph.D.
Proteo Biotech AG
Am Kiel-Kanal 44
D-24106 Kiel
Germany
Email: info@proteo.de
Phone +49(0)431 8888462
Fax: +49(0)431 8888463
Ende der Corporate News
---------------------------------------------------------------------
06.12.2011 Veröffentlichung einer Corporate News/Finanznachricht,
übermittelt durch die DGAP - ein Unternehmen der EquityStory AG.
Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber
verantwortlich.
Die DGAP Distributionsservices umfassen gesetzliche Meldepflichten,
Corporate News/Finanznachrichten und Pressemitteilungen.
Medienarchiv unter http://www.dgap-medientreff.de und
http://www.dgap.de
---------------------------------------------------------------------
148759 06.12.2011
DGAP-News: Proteo Biotech AG / Schlagwort(e): Research Update/Studie
Proteo, Inc. / Proteo Biotech AG: Major advances in the elafin
development program for lung diseases - NIH supports research on
Elafin with a $10.8 million grant
06.12.2011 / 11:44
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Proteo, Inc. / Proteo Biotech AG:
Major advances in the elafin development program for lung diseases - NIH
supports research on Elafin with a $10.8 million grant
Irvine, CA - Kiel, December 6, 2011 - Proteo, Inc. (OTCQB: PTEO;
Freiverkehr Frankfurt: WKN: 925981) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Proteo
Biotech AG announced today: Since 2008, the Company cooperates with
scientists at Stanford University in California with respect to the
preclinical development in the field of pulmonary arterial hypertension and
ventilator-induced lung injury. In August 2010 the cooperation agreement
with Stanford University was extended by a further project on lung
transplantation.
In 2011 the Stanford team led by Marlene Rabinovitch and Richard Bland
published two major advances in research on pulmonary arterial hypertension
and ventilator-induced lung injury in the American Journal of Pathology and
the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine: They showed
for the first time in an animal model of pulmonary arterial hypertension
that human leukocyte elastase is produced by pulmonary arterial smooth
muscle cells. Administration of Proteo's elastase inhibitor Elafin
attenuated the development of the typical vascular lesions for this
disease, pointing towards a therapeutic potential of Elafin. In independent
experiments they showed that intratracheal Elafin treatment attenuated lung
structural abnormalities noted in mechanically ventilated newborn mice.
These findings support the assumption that Elafin might be used
therapeutically to prevent ventilator-induced lung injury in newborns.
In the third quarter of 2011 the Stanford School of Medicine research team
led by Marlene Rabinovitch, MD, has been awarded a five-year, $10.8 million
grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for the study of
Elafin's ability to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension,
ventilator-induced lung injury in newborns and lung transplant rejections.
The Stanford team will test whether Elafin prevents such lung damage or
promotes healing of damaged tissue in these three lung diseases. The grant
will fund one project for each disease, all three of which are notoriously
difficult to treat. Rabinovitch will lead Project 1 on pulmonary
hypertension, or elevated blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood
to the lungs, which kills more than 60 percent of patients within five
years of diagnosis. Project 2 will focus on ventilator-induced injury of
the immature lung, which causes lasting lung damage in premature babies.
This project will be led by Richard Bland, MD, Professor in the Division of
Newborn Medicine of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford. Project 3,
which is to be led by Mark Nicolls, MD, associate professor of pulmonary
and critical care medicine and chief of the Division of Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine, examines chronic lung transplant rejection, which
leads lung transplant recipients to have the worst survival statistics of
all organ recipients.
'Our project was sparked by exciting preclinical data indicating that the
elastase inhibitor Elafin can be used to treat three of the most
challenging lung conditions: pulmonary hypertension, ventilator-induced
injury of the immature lung and lung transplant rejection,' said
Rabinovitch, who is Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric
Cardiology at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Further information on the clinical development program for Elafin:
Proteo's pharmaceutical Elafin is a copy of a naturally occurring human
anti-inflammatory substance. It is a natural antagonist of the tissue
destroying enzymes (proteases) that participate in the inflammatory
mechanism of many diseases. Elafin's ability to block the enzymes that
cause these undesirable effects makes it a promising drug for the treatment
of e.g. inflammatory lung diseases and severe reperfusion injury. The
excellent tolerability of intravenously administered recombinant Elafin has
already been demonstrated convincingly in a Phase I clinical trial. The
outcome of a Phase II clinical trial on the treatment of postoperative
inflammatory reactions in esophagus carcinoma show that intravenously
administered Elafin has a very clear positive effect on the period of
recovery: 63 percent of the Elafin treated patients required only one day
of intensive care. All patients in the placebo group needed several days of
postoperative intensive medical care. In addition, Proteo's licensing and
development partner, Minapharm Pharmaceuticals SAE, has initiated a Phase
II clinical trial on the use of Elafin for kidney transplantation patients.
This trial is concerned with the prevention of acute organ rejection and
chronic graft injury (allograft nephropathy). A further clinical trial -
EMPIRE (Elafin Myocardial Protection from Ischaemia Reperfusion Injury), a
placebo-controlled, double-blinded, monocentric Phase-II study with 80
patients - has been started in the third quarter of 2011. The study is
being performed under the supervision of the cardiologist Dr. Peter
Henriksen at NHS Lothian's Edinburgh Heart Centre in association with The
University of Edinburgh, one of the leading European universities in the
area of cardiovascular research. The study is funded by the Medical
Research Council (MRC) and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) with
funding in excess of 500,000 GBP.
About Proteo:
The company researches, develops and markets compounds for biological and
medical research as well as for use as pharmaceuticals. The main focus is
on anti-inflammatory drugs, in particular on the human protease inhibitor
Elafin. Proteo intends to out-license selected indications and to establish
international strategic alliances in order to open up new fields of
application and for marketing. (www.proteo.de).
Forward-looking statements:
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking
information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933
and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to
the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than
statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation,
statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company,
are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There
can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Technical complications that may arise
could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant
plan(s) outlined above. The company cautions that these forward looking
statements and risks and uncertainties involved are further qualified by
other factors including, but not limited to those set forth in the
company's Form 10-K filing and other filings with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Barbara Kahlke, Ph.D.
Proteo Biotech AG
Am Kiel-Kanal 44
D-24106 Kiel
Germany
Email: info@proteo.de
Phone +49(0)431 8888462
Fax: +49(0)431 8888463
Ende der Corporate News
---------------------------------------------------------------------
06.12.2011 Veröffentlichung einer Corporate News/Finanznachricht,
übermittelt durch die DGAP - ein Unternehmen der EquityStory AG.
Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent / Herausgeber
verantwortlich.
Die DGAP Distributionsservices umfassen gesetzliche Meldepflichten,
Corporate News/Finanznachrichten und Pressemitteilungen.
Medienarchiv unter http://www.dgap-medientreff.de und
http://www.dgap.de
---------------------------------------------------------------------
148759 06.12.2011