-- Collaboration with World Renowned Hepatitis Researcher Initiated --
WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- AltaRex Corp.
(Toronto: AXO., OTC: ALXFF) announced today that it will apply its antigen-
targeted antibody approach to the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. The
Company's scientists will conduct proof of concept experiments in its
laboratories in collaboration with Lorne Tyrrell, MD, PhD, of the University
of Alberta, a world-renowned expert in the research and treatment of
hepatitis.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000831/ALTREXLOGO )
Dr. Tyrell's post-doctoral work in virology at the Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm led him on a 20-year odyssey to develop new approaches to the
treatment of hepatitis. He has won numerous awards for his work in the field
and in 1998 he won the Prix Galien Canada Medal for Research.
Dr. Tyrrell's lab was instrumental in the development of lamivudine, one
of the mainstays of today's anti-viral therapy for hepatitis B.
"We believe that if we can find a way to up-regulate the immune response
to the antigen, then we may clear the infection in the vast majority of
chronic carriers by using immunotherapy in combination with currently
available anti-viral therapies," commented Dr. Tyrrell. "The trick continues
to be to find a reliable way to up-regulate the immune response. With its
novel antigen-targeted antibody approach, AltaRex has now demonstrated an
ability to trigger the immune system to recognize and attack specific cancer
antigens and the associated disease -- antigens that the immune system is not
effectively recognizing. We believe that hepatitis B could be amenable to the
AltaRex approach."
Over 350 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B. In the
acute or active stage, the immune system is still capable of recognizing and
attacking the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and there is considerable success in
treating patients. However in the chronic form of the disease, the immune
system frequently does not recognize HBV, and there is a real possibility of
developing severe liver complications. Ten percent of adults diagnosed with
hepatitis B become chronic carriers and between 5% and 25% of these develop
liver cancer, making HBV a leading cause of liver cancer worldwide. In the
United States alone, over 1.25 million people are infected with HBV. The
objective of treating HBV infection is to clear the infection and prevent the
long-term complications associated with the disease.
With a planned Biologics License Application filing for OvaRex(R) MAb at
year-end 2001 in the United States, and advancing clinical trials of its other
anti-cancer antibodies, such as BrevaRex(R) MAb for multiple myeloma, the
Company is now committed to exploring other disease areas with its patented
technology. This announcement represents an important step toward development
of proprietary antibodies for the treatment of a chronic infectious disease.
AltaRex Corp. is focused on the research, development and
commercialization of five antigen-targeted monoclonal antibodies to treat
late-stage cancers. OvaRex(R) MAb targets the tumor associated antigen CA 125
and is in the final stages of clinical evaluation for ovarian cancer with
commercialization expected in the United States in 2002. Clinical data
reported to date, in OvaRex(R) MAb responders, evidence a prolongation in time
to relapse and/or survival in the watchful waiting and recurrent disease
indications of ovarian cancer. BrevaRex(R) MAb targets the tumor associated
antigen MUC1 and has successfully completed a Phase I safety and immunology
study. The Company expects to initiate a Phase I/II clinical study of
BrevaRex(R) MAb for the treatment of multiple myeloma in this year.
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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http://www.altarex.com
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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; or Brandon Lewis, Investor
Relations of The Trout Group, 212-477-9007, ext. 15
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