Collgard Biopharmaceuticals Announces Milestone Patent for Tempostatin™

Tempostatin™ receives U.S. patent for the prevention of angiogenesis and for treating cancers, malignancies and neoplasms

September 24, 2002, Boston, MA - Collgard Biopharmaceuticals (www.collgard.com), "the tissue therapeutics company", announced today its receipt of U.S. Patent No. 6,420,371 B1, issued on July 16, 2002 for the use of Tempostatin™ (Halofuginone hydrobromide) and its derivatives for the prevention of angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) and for treating cancers. The patent was granted to Collgard founding scientists Dr. Mark Pines, Professor Israel Vlodavsky and Professor Arnon Nagler.
Collgard is developing Tempostatin™ as a therapeutic platform for managing tissue response to injury and as a means to protect tissue against invasion by cancer cells. The company is developing a new class of "tissue therapeutics" that are targeted toward unmet clinical needs in organ failure, restenosis and selected cancers including prostate, breast, bladder and brain cancers. The grant of this patent further establishes Collgard's proprietary and novel approach to cancer therapy through modifying the behavior of stromal cells. Collgard is the leader in pharmaceutical development based on the link between tissue repair and the biological forces that determine tumor growth.
The patent announced today expands the company's existing proprietary technology including U.S. Patent No. 6,028,075 issued on February 22, 2000 for use of Tempostatin™ for the prevention of neovascularization and the treatment of malignancies; and U.S. Patent No. 6,090,814 issued on July 8, 2000 for the use of the compositions and methods for the attenuation of neovascularization.
Preclinical studies show that Tempostatin™ has the ability to "starve" tumors into submission by preventing angiogenesis (the creation of new tumor-associated blood vessels) that is accomplished by inhibiting a master switch in the tissue repair process.
"We are very pleased by the issuance of this patent, that further supports Collgard's drug development efforts. Both tissue invasion and the metastasis of solid tumors are accelerated when stromal cells are forced to serve the needs of the tumor. Cutting the tumor off from stromal cell support is a powerful and novel approach to limiting the spread and growth of solid tumors," said Collgard CEO Dr. Bruce Bach.

About Collgard Biopharmaceuticals

Founded in 1996, Collgard Biopharmaceuticals is a clinical stage tissue therapeutics company, led by a global team of medical and drug development experts in Boston, Atlanta and Tel Aviv. The company is currently engaged in Phase II clinical studies evaluating a novel approach to the prevention and treatment of organ failure, restenosis and specific cancers. Scientific and clinical collaborators include the Mayo Clinic, the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

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