Cincinnati OH - June 23, 2005 - Celsus, Inc. announced today that the European Patent Office has granted the company EP 0 983 304 B1 for dermatan disulfate, an inhibitor of thrombin generation and complement activation. With the European Patent Office process completed and the patent granted, Celsus is now seeking "nationalization" of the patent in the major countries of the European Union. In contrast to heparin and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), the current anticoagulants of choice, (i) dermatan disulfate, also known as Intimatan™, catalyzes heparin cofactor II-dependent inhibition of both soluble and surface-bound thrombin, thus suppressing the thrombin feedback loop, at doses that pose minimal systemic anticoagulation or bleeding, and (ii) in animal models, Intimatan has shown to be more effective as an inhibitor of venous and arterial thrombisis, to prevent recurrent arterial thrombosis after successul thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator and to act synergistically with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists to inhibit human platelet activation. These properties may position Intimatan™ as a preferred anticoagulant for use in acute thrombosis indications, especially for antithrombin III-deficient patients. Recent studies have shown that Intimatan™ inhibits the activation of human platelets induced by heparin when incubated with immune serum from patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), thereby qualifying Intimatan as the first anticoagulant HIT-antagonist. HIT, previously known as white clot syndrome, is a debilitating disease that affects 2 - 5% of the 12 million patients in the U.S. on heparin and LMWH therapy. About CelsusCelsus, Inc. is a closely-held enterprise founded in 1987 focused on the discovery, preclinical development and manufacture of heparin and related complex carbohydrates for unmet medical and biomedical needs. Its FDA-registered drug establishment (www.celsuslaboratories.com) has the capacity to manufacture heparin and many of its derivatives, including the low molecular weight heparins, ardeparin sodium and enoxaparin sodium. For additional information, contact Alan D. Cardin, Ph.D. at 800-heparin.
|
||||||
