EVANSTON, Ill., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Northfield Laboratories Inc.
(Nasdaq: NFLD) announced today that the company and its European partner,
Pharmacia & Upjohn AB, will seek the necessary approvals to immediately begin
Phase III clinical trials of Northfield's oxygen carrying blood substitute,
PolyHeme(R).  Northfield is currently engaged in Phase III clinical trials of
PolyHeme in the United States.
    "We are initiating European trials at this juncture to position PolyHeme
for a worldwide product launch upon completion of our Phase III trials and FDA
approval," said Richard DeWoskin, chairman and chief executive officer of
Northfield.  "Our earlier studies have  demonstrated that PolyHeme reduces or
eliminates the need for donated blood in trauma situations and we expect
similar findings in these new clinical trials."  Northfield's Phase III trials
in the United States are focused on elective surgery which is a more
controlled clinical trial setting than trauma and addresses a larger market
need.
    In conjunction with Northfield's long-time partner, Pharmacia & Upjohn AB,
the company is planning trials at sites in the United Kingdom, Germany and
Sweden under Northfield Laboratories' IND.  Pharmacia & Upjohn AB has
marketing licenses for PolyHeme in those countries.  While other blood
substitutes have been undergoing clinical trials in Europe for quite some
time, these trials will be the first of their kind in any European country to
include direct replacement of oxygen carrying red blood cells in large
volumes.  The company's trials in the United States have included infusion of
up to 10 units of PolyHeme in place of  blood in trauma and elective surgery
settings.  Ten units represent 100 percent of an average person's blood
volume.  Northfield will seek approval for one or more protocols in these
trials.
    Northfield Laboratories is the only company to report achievement of this
high dose level in any phase of clinical testing.  The company maintains that
in order for a blood substitute product to be clinically useful and
commercially viable, the blood substitute needs to demonstrate efficacy and
safety at high dosage levels.  The company indicated that no other company
working on a replacement for blood in these critical settings has disclosed
sufficient information to indicate any level of success in this area.
    "We expect the European medical community to see the same benefits from
PolyHeme that we have demonstrated with our product to date in the United
States," said Dr. Steven Gould, Northfield's president.  "Having shown success
in our earlier trials, we expect that PolyHeme will be accepted to replace the
need for donated blood in these critical settings where large amounts of blood
are lost."
    Northfield Laboratories was founded in 1985.  The Company is headquartered
in Evanston, Ill., and its stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market
System under the symbol NFLD.

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