WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- AltaRex Corp.
(Toronto: AXO, OTC: ALRXF) announced today that it has received an allowance
of claims for its "multi-epitopic" patent from the United States Patent and
Trademark Office that is immediately applicable to OvaRex(R) MAb.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000831/ALTREXLOGO )
These allowed claims cover the Company's novel technology of administering
a low-dose foreign antibody (OvaRex(R) MAb) to any patient expressing the
target antigen (CA 125) and thereby activating an anti-tumor immune response
unique to that individual. In more general terms, the Company has discovered
a method to enable any particular cancer patient to develop the natural
ability to fight their own disease.
The applicability of this approach to mobilize the patient's immune system
to prolong life is being or has been tested in six different OvaRex(R)
clinical trials in a variety of ovarian cancer patient populations. Data
supporting this unique mechanism has been previously reported for the
Company's other cancer antibodies. Additionally, the Company believes this
mechanism should be applicable to diseases other than cancer.
"This patent allowance is an extraordinary milestone accomplishment for
the Company," said Richard E. Bagley, AltaRex President and CEO. "This
allowance expands our OvaRex(R) proprietary position well beyond the
previously issued U.S. manufacturing patent and sets in motion the
intellectual proprietary position that is required for a leadership position
in the biotechnology industry."
AltaRex Corp. is focused exclusively on the research, development and
commercialization of antibody-based immunotherapeutic products to prolong life
and reduce the suffering associated with late-stage cancers. Data from
clinical studies of its product candidates suggest that through multiple
mechanisms, AltaRex's proprietary technology enhances the ability of the human
immune system to produce an anti-tumor response. The company has five
antibody-based products in various stages of development. The most advanced
product is OvaRex(R) MAb, in late stage clinical development for the treatment
of ovarian cancer.
Additional information about AltaRex research and development, news and
events can be found on its web site at http://www.altarex.com. Clinical information
can also be found at http://www.centerwatch.com. Additional information about
ovarian cancer can be found at http://www.nci.nih.gov, http://www.ovariancanada.org and at
http://www.ovarian.org.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from
the statements made. For this purpose, any statements that are contained
herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-
looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "intends," "expects" and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to our need for capital and the risk that the
Company can not raise funds on a timely basis on satisfactory terms or at all,
changing market conditions, completion of clinical trials, patient enrollment
rates, uncertainty of pre-clinical, retrospective and early clinical trial
results, which may not be indicative of results that will be obtained in
ongoing or future clinical trials, the establishment of manufacturing
processes and new corporate alliances, the timely development, regulatory
approval and market acceptance of the Company's products, uncertainty as to
whether patents will issue from pending patent applications and, if issued, as
to whether such patents will be sufficiently broad to protect the Company's
technology, and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's
filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian
securities authorities.
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.
SOURCE AltaRex Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.altarex.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000831/ALTREXLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/128163.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 128163
CONTACT:
Sondra Henrichon, Director, Investor
Relations and Corporate Communications of AltaRex Corp.,
781-672-0138, ext. 5110, shenrichon@altarex.com; or Wayne Hendry,
Investor Relations of The Equicom Group, Inc, 416-815-0700, ext.
238, whendry@equicomgroup.com
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