CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Biopure Corporation
(Nasdaq: BPUR) announced today that the Naval Medical Research Center
(NMRC) has received new funding of approximately $3.4 million for the
development of Hemopure(R) (HBOC-201). These funds are being granted
through the Department of Defense for a project entitled: A Multifunctional
Blood Substitute for Field Resuscitation of Polytrauma Combat Casualties
with Brain Injury and Concomitant Hemorrhagic Shock.
Biopure is collaborating with the NMRC to develop HBOC-201 as a
platform for the first multifunction blood substitute for trauma patients.
The preclinical work towards a multifunctional product for traumatic brain
injury is expected to be conducted by the NMRC itself and other
laboratories to be engaged by the NMRC. The project is part of the Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program of the
Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
This funding for development toward an indication of traumatic brain
injury is in addition to the $22.5 million previously allocated by Congress
for the military for research of HBOC-201. Biopure anticipates that the
work relating to the multifunction blood substitute development will begin
as soon as certain agreements are completed. The company continues to
support the NMRC's efforts toward lifting the clinical hold on the NMRC's
investigational new drug application to conduct the pending, proposed
clinical trial in trauma patients entitled "Restore Effective Survival in
Shock (RESUS).
Biopure Corporation
Biopure Corporation develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals,
called oxygen therapeutics, that are intravenously administered to deliver
oxygen to the body's tissues. Hemopure(R) [hemoglobin glutamer -- 250
(bovine)], or HBOC-201, is approved for sale in South Africa for the
treatment of surgical patients who are acutely anemic. The company is
developing Hemopure for other indications and is supporting the U.S. Navy's
government-funded efforts to develop a potential out-of-hospital trauma
indication. Biopure's veterinary product Oxyglobin(R) [hemoglobin glutamer
-- 200 (bovine)], or HBOC-301, the only oxygen therapeutic approved for
marketing by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European
Commission, is indicated for the treatment of anemia in dogs. Biopure has
sold approximately 200,000 units of Oxyglobin since its launch in 1998.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are
forward-looking statements, including any statements implying that any
clinical trial will be initiated and/or carried out to completion, that
preclinical study results will be as desired or that the FDA might lift the
clinical hold on the RESUS trial. Actual results may differ materially from
those projected in these forward-looking statements due to risks and
uncertainties. These risks include, without limitation, uncertainties
regarding the company's financial position, unexpected costs and expenses,
possible delays related to clinical trials, determinations by the FDA, and
unpredictable outcomes of preclinical and clinical trials. The company
undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions
to these forward- looking statements to reflect events or circumstances
arising after the date hereof. A full discussion of the company's
operations and financial condition can be found in the company's filings
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the
heading "Risk Factors" in the Form 10-Q filed on March 17, 2008, which can
be accessed in the EDGAR database at the SEC Web site, http://www.sec.gov.
The content of this press release does not necessarily reflect the position
or the policy of the U.S. Government or the Department of Defense, and no
official endorsement should be inferred.
Contact: Tiana Gorham
Biopure Corporation
(617) 234-6826
IR@biopure.com
SOURCE Biopure Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.biopure.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/131224.html/
CONTACT:
Tiana Gorham of Biopure Corporation,
+1-617-234-6826, IR@biopure.com
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