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Press Release
New Formulation is Key to Fulfilling Promise of Prior Clinical Studies
Tucson , Ariz. —August 9, 2005—AmpliMed and UAF Technologies and Research, L.L.C. (UTR) today announced that AmpliMed has licensed from UTR certain patents, intellectual property and other assets associated with a portfolio of compounds that has been tested in preclinical studies and may have the potential to treat cancer and certain viral diseases. In particular, one of the compounds in the portfolio, FB642, has shown promise in early clinical trials as an anticancer drug. Under the License Agreement, AmpliMed will take over development of FB642 from UTR and is responsible for maintenance of the FB642 intellectual property portfolio. In return, UTR will receive equity in AmpliMed along with cash payments on the achievement of certain milestones and royalties on future sales of drugs.
FB642 is a novel cancer drug originally developed by The Procter and Gamble Company (NYSE: PG). It was among a package of intellectual property and other assets donated by Procter and Gamble in 2003 to the University of Arizona Foundation, which in turn established UTR to hold and manage the portfolio. Scientists at the University of Arizona (UA) College of Pharmacy have successfully reformulated FB642, and AmpliMed has conducted extensive diligence confirming the potential of the new formulation for renewed human studies. It is anticipated that, following limited additional characterization of the formulation and further toxicology studies, FB642 will reenter Phase I clinical trials early in 2006.
“We are delighted to add FB642 and related compounds to our growing portfolio of clinical and late pre-clinical cancer compounds,” noted Robert A. Ashley, Chairman, CEO and President of AmpliMed. “This is a unique opportunity for the AmpliMed Oncology Clinical Development Team to continue development of a compound that has already undergone extensive preclinical characterization and shown promise in prior clinical studies. Thanks to the innovative work carried out by Dr. Samuel Yalkowsky and his colleagues at the UA College of Pharmacy, led by Dr. Tim Brenner, we believe that the new FB642 formulation will lead to a significant improvement in absorption in humans, thereby enabling the drug to fulfill the promise seen in the earlier studies.”
Bo Statham , Manager of UTR, said he is very pleased that this first licensing of technology by UTR is to AmpliMed. “This continues the involvement of the University with AmpliMed, a local company, and hopefully will contribute to the UA’s technology development program and the Tucson economy.” Statham also expressed his strong appreciation to Dr. Brenner and Dr. Patrick Jones, Director of the UA Office of Technology Transfer, for their support and cooperation in the development of the P&G portfolio.
About FB642
FB642 is a compound for the potential treatment of patients suffering from certain
types of cancer or HIV. FB642 appears to demonstrate a novel mechanism of action to
inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells. In addition, FB642 and other related compounds show promise for the treatment of HIV infection, the precursor to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). These compounds may represent a new class of anti-HIV pharmaceuticals based on their novel mechanism of action.
About AmpliMed Corporation
AmpliMed Corporation was founded in 1989 with the support of the University of Arizona Technology Development Corporation and is focused on the clinical development of chemotherapeutic agents for cancer. AmpliMed’s strategy is to develop anti-cancer drugs with novel mechanisms of action designed to overcome some of the limitations, such as myelosuppression (suppression of blood cell counts), multi-drug resistance (treatment-induced resistance to many cancer drugs) and cardiac toxicity, frequently associated with current cancer therapy. The company’s lead product, Amplimexon™ (imexon inj.), is undergoing NDA-directed clinical development. Other products in the company’s portfolio include Amplizone™, which is anticipated to enter the clinic early in 2006, and a portfolio of derivatives of both lead compounds for future development. AmpliMed Corporation is based in Tucson, Arizona and is on the Web at http://www.amplimed.com.
About UTR
UTR is a limited liability company established by the University of Arizona Foundation in July 2003. It is a 501(c)(3), non-profit company whose charter is to support the purposes of the Foundation for the benefit of the University of Arizona in the development of patents and other technology and to license or otherwise transfer such intellectual property to third parties. UTR works closely with the University of Arizona Office of Technology Transfer in these endeavors.
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AmpliMed®, Amplimexon® and Amplizone™, are United States trademarks of AmpliMed Corporation.
