ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will provide funding towards the
development of a diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer based on the Company's
HAAH Oncology Program, which targets the enzyme Human Aspartyl Asparaginyl
Beta-Hydroxylase or HAAH as both a therapeutic target and as a cancer marker.
"We are pleased to receive a third SBIR award from the National Institutes
of Health, as it points to the importance of our technologies being
developed," stated Hossein A. Ghanbari, Ph.D., President and CEO of the
Company. "We are particularly excited about the development of tests based on
HAAH, which have the potential to be used in the diagnosis and monitoring of
solid tumors both during and subsequent to treatment and which may assist the
clinician in treatment selection."
The grant, entitled, "Development of Immunodiagnostics for Pancreatic
Carcinoma," has several goals. These include the validation of HAAH as a
soluble marker for pancreatic cancer, the development of sensitive and
specific assays for HAAH in body fluid samples, and conducting a retrospective
study of HAAH in pancreatic cancer patients. The retrospective study will
measure HAAH levels in patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and will
correlate these levels to tumor stage and patient outcome.
Future work will include large-scale clinical studies to define the
correlation between HAAH levels in the blood and pancreatic juice for the
diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of pancreatic cancer. This work may lead
to the establishment of HAAH-specific immunoassays to be used in clinical
diagnostic labs for multiple cancers.
Current methods for the diagnosis and management of cancer rely heavily on
imaging techniques, such as X-ray, CT scanning, and MRI as well as tissue
biopsy and histopathologic findings. Current imaging procedures are costly
and time consuming while tissue biopsy is quite invasive. Much effort has been
put forth to identify specific molecular tumor markers that could be easily
detected in bodily fluid samples and to develop sensitive assays to detect
them. Unfortunately, to date, most tumor markers that have been identified
have lacked in the requisite specificity and sensitivity for diagnosis and are
of limited value in the determination of disease prognosis and as a method for
continued monitoring of patients subsequent to treatment.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 30,000 Americans die each year
from pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of
cancer death in the United States for men and women, and has the highest
mortality rate. The main reason for the poor prognosis of cancer of the
pancreas is that very few of these cancers are found early. Because the
pancreas is located deep inside the body, early tumors can't be seen or felt
by healthcare providers during routine physical exams, and most patients have
no symptoms until the cancer has reached a large size or spread to other
organs.
Background on HAAH Oncology Program
HAAH over-expression has been detected in primary tumor tissue of all
eighteen tumor types tested to date, including cancers of the pancreas,
breast, ovary, liver, colon, prostate, lung, brain, and bile duct. HAAH over-
expression has been detected in 99% of tumor specimens (greater than 900)
tested to date and has not been detected in normal or adjacent non-affected
tissue. Recent findings in preclinical studies have indicated that over-
expression of HAAH is sufficient to induce cellular transformation, to
increase cell motility and invasiveness, and to establish tumor formation in
animals.
Even partial inhibition of HAAH expression appears to have a beneficial
effect on tumor cells, causing them to revert to a more normal phenotype as
measured by the inhibition of growth, motility, and invasiveness. HAAH is
over-expressed on the surface of cancer cells, potentially facilitating
detection, drug delivery, and enzyme inhibition.
Panacea signed a Collaboration and License Agreement with MedImmune, Inc.
in early 2002 to discover, develop, and commercialize therapeutic agents for
the prevention or treatment of human disease based on Panacea's HAAH
technology or its pathways. Panacea has retained all rights to the development
of diagnostic products based on HAAH.
About Panacea Pharmaceuticals
Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company
focused on utilizing functional genomics and proteomics to develop
therapeutics and diagnostics for diseases with substantial unmet clinical
need. The Company's product development focus is on novel proteins and
biochemical pathways related to cellular regulation and cell cycle
abnormalities in oncology as well as neurodegenerative diseases, particularly
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
More information is available at http://www.PanaceaPharma.com .
Except for historical information presented in this press release, matters
discussed herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of
management only as of the date of this release and are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by
such statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are
not limited to, uncertainties related to our access to capital, the progress,
costs, and results of any clinical trials undertaken by us, progress of our
research and development projects, and uncertainties related to whether our
product candidates would ultimately achieve commercial success. We do not
undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise unless
required by law.
Contact:
Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Kasra Ghanbari, Chief Operating Officer
Phone 240-453-6295; FAX 240-465-0450
Kasra@PanaceaPharma.com
SOURCE Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.panaceapharma.com
CONTACT:
Kasra Ghanbari, Chief Operating Officer of
Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-240-453-6295, fax
+1-240-465-0450 or Kasra@PanaceaPharma.com
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