University of Connecticut Health Center and Competitive Technologies, Inc. Announce National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant for Asthma Study

FARMINGTON, Conn. and FAIRFIELD, Conn., May 19, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- University of Connecticut Health Center and Competitive Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:CTT) announced today that Dr. Eric Secor Jr., assistant professor from the Department of Immunology at the University's School of Medicine in Farmington, has been awarded a multiyear $750,000 K-08 Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Dr. Secor's grant is a continuing study of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of bromelain, a natural botanical product, in asthma. This work has originated in association with Dr. Roger Thrall, a prominent asthma researcher and recipient of several NIH grants including his current $1.8 million grant to investigate the mechanisms of allergic asthma. CTT has been providing basic funding for Dr. Secor's research to support his proposal to the NIH.