Thursday May 21, 1998
Company Press Release
NEOTROFIN Reported
to Stimulate Nerve
Regeneration
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)-- May 21, 1998--NeoTherapeutics, Inc.
(Nasdaq: NEOT; NEOTW) announced today that researchers from North
Carolina and Canada reported that the Company's lead product
candidate, AIT-082 (NEOTROFIN(tm)), has been shown to stimulate
nerve
regeneration in tissue culture
and in
animals.
At the 6th International
Symposium
on Adenosine and Adenine
Nucleotides, held in Ferrara,
Italy, Dr.
Bernhard H.J. Juurlink of the
Department of Anatomy and Cell
Biology at the University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada, reported
that
treatment of hippocampal
neurons
with AIT-082 caused nerve
outgrowth and enhanced
branching
of the nerve processes.
Hippocampal
neurons have been reported to
be
involved in memory function.
``Glutamate excitotoxicity is
implicated in a number of
neurodegenerative diseases,''
Dr.
Juurlink stated. ``AIT-082 is
potentially therapeutic in a
number
of neurodegenerative
disorders.
We
have demonstrated in
hippocampal
neurons grown in culture that
AIT-082 not only promotes
neurite
formation in developing
hippocampal
neurons, but it prevents much
of
the
neurite degeneration following
exposure to excessive amounts
of
the neurotransmitter
glutamate.''
Dr. Julio J. Ramirez, the R.
Stuart
Dickson Professor of
Psychology,
Davidson College, Davidson,
North
Carolina, demonstrated in
animals
that after destruction of a
discreet
area of the brain involved in
memory,
treatment with AIT-082 caused
re-growth of neurons into the
damaged area. These effects
were
seen after only four days of
treatment with AIT-082.
``Since the reorganization of
brain
circuitry has been shown to
contribute to recovery of
memory
function after injury or
degeneration
in areas crucial to learning
and
memory,'' Dr. Ramirez stated,
``the
possibility that AIT-082 might
enhance this reorganization
opens
up marvelous opportunities to
promote recovery of function
in
injured and diseased brains.''
NeoTherapeutics is engaged in
the
discovery and development of
drugs
that act on the central
nervous
system to repair nerve cells
and
treat
neurodegenerative diseases
such
as
Alzheimer's disease, spinal
cord
injury, Parkinson's disease
and
stroke, as well as other
neurological
conditions such as migraine.
NeoTherapeutics' products are
orally
administered and based upon
patented technologies. AIT-082
(NEOTROFIN(tm)) is currently
in
human clinical trials for the
treatment of Alzheimer's
disease. For
additional company
information,
visit
the NeoTherapeutics website at
www.neotherapeutics.com.
This press release contains
forward-looking statements
regarding future events and
the
future performance of
NeoTherapeutics that involve
risks
and uncertainties that could
cause
actual results to differ
materially.
These risks include, but are
not
limited to, the biological
activity, side
effect profile and efficacy of
AIT-082,
the early stage of product
development, the potential
need
for
additional funding, the
initiation and
completion of clinical trials
and
dependence on third parties
for
clinical testing,
manufacturing
and
marketing. These risks are
described
in further detail in the
Company's
annual and quarterly reports
filed
with the Securities and
Exchange
Commission.