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RegeneRx Receives Second $100,000 Award from State of Maryland to Develop Novel Treatment for Cardiac Reperfusion Injury

BETHESDA, Md.-(Business Wire)-July 2, 2008 - RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Amex:RGN) (www.regenerx.com) announced today that it received a second $100,000 award from the State of Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program after successful completion of the first year's research goals. The Company is working with the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) to develop a novel pharmaceutical product specifically aimed at preventing reperfusion injury associated with cardiac ischemia (heart attack). RegeneRx is contributing approximately $54,000 and retains the right to exclusively license all intellectual property developed under the project.

"We are very excited about this program. It complements our TB4 cardiovascular efforts and may eventually offer a second, synergistic cardiovascular drug candidate that works at a different point in the treatment of patients following a heart attack. The past year produced important data and researchers at UMB, along with our team at RegeneRx, will be expanding that research to achieve the desired goals. This project would not have been possible without funding from the MIPS program, which allowed us to leverage our own research funds with those from the State of Maryland," stated J.J. Finkelstein, RegeneRx's president and chief executive officer.

"This project serves the MIPS mission, which is to utilize the resources of Maryland's universities to address significant research problems," said Martha Connolly, director of MIPS. "We are delighted that RegeneRx and UMB are working together to develop a potentially life-saving product."

Reperfusion injury is an event associated with unblocking an artery causing heart attack or stroke. The artery may be opened via clot-busting drugs or angioplasty, a process to mechanically unblock the artery. Reperfusion injury is not completely understood, however it is thought that the unblocking of an artery, which allows blood to again circulate through the damaged vessel and to the site of damage, creates a cascade of events that can further injure already damaged or "at risk" tissue. Therefore, new drugs to eliminate or reduce this potential damage are of high priority.

On September 13, 2007, The New England Journal of Medicine published a review article entitled, "Myocardial Reperfusion Injury." The authors noted the potential severity of reperfusion injury and its adverse affect on clinical outcome after heart attack, including patient mortality. They noted that new developments in identifying the pathways that can target the known mediators of lethal reperfusion injury, and the ability to influence those pathways, have generated renewed interest in the reperfusion phase as a target for new pharmaceutical therapies. The RegeneRx/University of Maryland project is specifically aimed at that goal.

About RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

RegeneRx is focused on the discovery and development of novel peptides to accelerate tissue and organ repair. Currently, RegeneRx is developing three product candidates, RGN-137, RGN-259 and RGN-352 for dermal, ophthalmic, and cardiovascular tissue repair, respectively. These product candidates are based on TB4, a 43-amino acid, naturally occurring peptide, in part, under an exclusive world-wide license from the National Institutes of Health. RegeneRx holds over 60 world-wide patents and patent applications related to novel peptides and is currently sponsoring three Phase II chronic dermal wound healing clinical trials, a Phase II ophthalmic wound healing clinical trial, and a Phase IA parenteral (injectable) clinical trial supporting systemic delivery of RGN-352 for acute cardiovascular indications.

RegeneRx Technology Background

TB4 is a synthetic version of a naturally occurring peptide present in virtually all human cells. It is a first-in-class multi-faceted molecule that promotes endothelial cell differentiation, angiogenesis in dermal tissues, keratinocyte migration, collagen deposition, and down-regulates inflammation. RegeneRx has identified several molecular variations of TB4 that may affect the aging of skin, among other properties, and could be important candidates as active ingredients in pharmaceutical and consumer products. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health, and at other academic institutions throughout the U.S., have published numerous scientific articles indicating TB4's in vitro and in vivo efficacy in accelerating wound healing and tissue protection under a variety of conditions. Key publications related to TB4's cardio-protective effects have been published in Nature and Circulation. Abstracts of these and other scientific papers related to TB4's mechanisms of action may be viewed at RegeneRx's web page: www.regenerx.com.

About MIPS (www.mips.umd.edu)

The MTECH Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program, an initiative of the A. James Clark School of Engineering's Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, brings university innovation to the commercial sector by supporting university-based research projects to help Maryland companies develop technology-based products.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Examples of such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the safety and efficacy of the company's product candidates, target dates for completing the company's ongoing preclinical studies and clinical trials for dermal, ophthalmic, cardiovascular, neurovascular and orphan indications, the potential size of addressable markets, including the market for topical gels, sterile eye drops and parenteral delivery products, the company's ability to enter into any collaborations with respect to the development or commercialization of its product candidates, and the therapeutic potential of TB4 for dermal, ophthalmic, cardiovascular and neurovascular wounds. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements include the risk that although TB4 has demonstrated potential therapeutic benefit for dermal, ophthalmic, cardiovascular and neurovascular wounds, the company's product candidates may not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in clinical trials, the risk that encouraging results from early research, preclinical studies, compassionate use or clinical trials may not be confirmed upon further analysis of the detailed results of such research, preclinical study, compassionate use or clinical trial, the risk that additional information relating to the safety, efficacy or tolerability of our product candidates may be discovered upon further analysis of preclinical or clinical trial data, the risk that the company's or its collaborators will not obtain approval to market the company's product candidates in the U.S. or abroad, the risks associated with reliance on outside financing to meet capital requirements, the risks associated with reliance on collaborators for the funding or conduct of further development and commercialization activities relating to the company's product candidates, the risks associated with protecting the company's intellectual property, including the risk that the company will not be able to obtain patent protection or that its issued patents will be infringed, and such other risks described in the company's annual report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2007, as amended, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2008, and other filings the company makes with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, as such, speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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