AGI Therapeutics to present RezularTM pharmacological
and clinical findings at DDW in San Diego
-- 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday 20 May, 2008 --
Dublin, Ireland, 14 May, 2008 - AGI Therapeutics plc
("AGI" or the "Company") (AIM, IEX: AGI), a speciality
pharmaceutical company focused on gastrointestinal drug
products, today announces it will present three poster
presentations at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) at the San
Diego Convention Centre on Tuesday 20 May, 2008.
DDW is the largest annual meeting in the fields of
gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and
gastrointestinal surgery with a broad international
attendance of physicians, researchers and healthcare
industry representatives.
The three presentations will be in poster format and
will be presented between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. PDT on
Tuesday 20 May at the 'Novel Diagnostics and
Therapeutics in Intestinal Disease, Pharmacotherapy and
The Intestine' track. All three posters relate to
Rezular (arverapamil, AGI-003) which is being developed
by the Company as a gastrointestinal-selective agent for
the treatment of diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel
syndrome (IBS-D). The titles of the presentations are:
1) Pharmacology of R-verapamil: A novel therapy in IBS
2) Evaluating the impact of baseline abdominal
pain/discomfort scores on the response to Rezular in IBS
3) Correlation of different symptom metrics to severity
of illness scale in the evaluation of IBS
Commenting on the presentations, Dr. John Devane, CEO of
AGI, said:"We welcome this opportunity to present some of the
important findings from our ongoing evaluation of
Rezular at the single largest gastroenterology meeting
in the world. This not only allows us engage with
physicians and researchers active in IBS treatment and
research, but also increases the awareness of Rezular in
the wider medical and pharmaceutical community".
Contact Information:
AGI Therapeutics plc. Tel: +353 1 449 3254
David Kelly, Chief Financial Officer
Financial Dynamics - UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 7182
Deborah Scott/Lara Mott
Financial Dynamics - Ireland Tel: +353 1 663 3607
Aisling Garvey
Piper Jaffray Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 3142 8700 Neil
Mackison Will Carnwath
Davy Tel: +353 1 614 8761 John Frain
Notes to Editors:
About RezularTM
Rezular is an orally administered triple-action
intestinal regulator, a first-in-class mechanism for the
treatment of IBS-D. Rezular contains arverapamil, the
pure R-isomer form of the racemic drug verapamil. Unlike
the currently available commercial forms of verapamil (a
racemic mixture of two isomers, R and S), Rezular shows
a dominant activity in treating the symptoms of IBS-D
without the traditional cardiovascular actions exerted
by the S-isomer component of the racemic drug. The
efficacy and safety of Rezular in IBS patients has
already been established in a Phase II trial, the
preliminary results of which were reported by the
Company in 2006 and presented at the 2007 Scientific
Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.
Rezular is currently in Phase III clinical trials
(ARDIS) for the treatment of IBS-D.
About IBS-D
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder
that comprises a cluster of gastrointestinal symptoms
which are likely to be life long and which affect
between 10% and 20% of the population in developed
markets. IBS remains the most common diagnosis made by
gastroenterologists and can lead to a substantial
reduction in patients' quality of life, accompanied by
considerable socio-economic and psychological
consequences. Altered intestinal motility is a major
component of IBS and patients are diagnosed and
sub-typed according to their predominant symptom of
bowel disturbance. Diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel
syndrome (IBS-D) is estimated to occur in one-third of
all IBS patients. IBS-D represents a significant unmet
medical need as there are currently few safe and
effective therapeutic options available to these
patients.
About AGI Therapeutics plc
AGI is a speciality pharmaceutical company which is
focused on the development and commercialisation of
differentiated drug products for gastrointestinal (GI)
diseases and disorders. AGI's common shares are listed
on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock
Exchange (AIM) and on the Irish Enterprise Exchange of
the Irish Stock Market (IEX) as AGI.
The Company has a portfolio of product candidates
derived from its Known Molecular Entity (KME) approach
to drug re-profiling and development. KME is a
re-profiling methodology used by the Company to identify
existing therapeutic drugs which typically have been
marketed for a number of years, have established safety
profiles and can be developed for new clinical
indications or with improved profiles in their existing
clinical indications. In this way, the Company seeks to
reduce the risk, time and cost of new product
development as compared to the development of new
chemical entities.
AGI is developing a range of product candidates to treat
a variety of prevalent GI diseases and disorders,
including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dyspepsia,
gastroparesis, ulcerative colitis, gastro-esophageal
reflux disease (GERD) and diarrhoea-related conditions
such as chemotherapy-induced diarrhoea (CID). The
Company is targeting areas of the GI therapeutic drug
products market for its product candidates where there
are currently unmet medical needs or where the
effectiveness of existing drug therapies can be further
improved.
The Company has five active clinical stage product
candidates which are either isomers or new drug delivery
formulations of existing approved drugs, and which have
established safety and tolerability profiles in their
currently approved clinical indications.
For further information please see
www.agitherapeutics.com
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