LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS--(Marketwire - July 02, 2012) - Biotech company Pharming Group NV
("Pharming" or "the Company") (NYSE Euronext: PHARM) announced today that
recombinant human C1 inhibitor (rhC1INH; RUCONEST®) has been shown to
have a
protective effect in a preclinical animal model of severe blood loss
designed to
simulate battlefield injuries.
These results can be found online here and will be published in print in
July
2012 in Shock issue 38:1.
Dr Dalle Lucca et al. found that rhC1INHreduced tissue damage in this pig
based
model of severe hemorrhage, the tissue damage, following hemorrhage,
strongly
resembles that of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). These findings further
support the application of rhC1INH in the prevention of IRI such as that
found
after transplantation, myocardial infarction, major vascular surgery and
trauma.
Pharming and its partners continue to be interested in the broad
therapeutic
area of IRI and are reviewing several of these indications for potential
future
clinical development.
This study was funded by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
About RUCONEST® and Hereditary Angioedema
RUCONEST® (INN conestat alfa) is a recombinant version of the human
protein C1
inhibitor (C1INH). RUCONEST is produced through Pharming's proprietary
technology in milk of transgenic rabbits and is approved in Europe for
treatment
of acute angioedema attacks in patients with HAE. RUCONEST® is an
investigational drug in the U.S. and has been granted orphan drug
designation
for the treatment of acute attacks of HAE, a genetic disorder in which the
patient is deficient in or lacks a functional plasma protein C1 inhibitor,
resulting in unpredictable and debilitating episodes of intense swelling of
the
extremities, face, trunk, genitals, abdomen and upper airway. The frequency
and
severity of HAE attacks vary and are most serious when they involve
laryngeal
edema, which can close the upper airway and cause death by asphyxiation.
According to the U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association, epidemiological
estimates for HAE range from one in 10,000 to one in 50,000 individuals.
About Pharming Group NV
Pharming Group NV is developing innovative products for the treatment of
unmet
medical needs. RUCONEST® is a recombinant human C1 inhibitor approved
for the
treatment of angioedema attacks in patients with HAE in all 27 EU countries
plus
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and is distributed in the EU by Swedish
Orphan Biovitrum (OMX: SOBI). RUCONEST® is partnered with Santarus,
Inc
(NASDAQ: SNTS) in North America where the drug is undergoing Phase III
clinical
development. The product is also being evaluated for follow-on indications
in
the areas of transplantation and reperfusion injury. The advanced
technologies
of the Company include innovative and validated platforms for the
production of
protein therapeutics, technology and processes for the purification and
formulation of these products. A feasibility study, using the validated
transgenic rabbit platform, aimed at the development of recombinant Factor
VIII
for the treatment of Haemophilia A is underway with partner, Renova Life,
Inc.
Additional information is available on the Pharming website,
www.pharming.com.
To download the Pharming Group Investor Relations App, click here.
This press release contains forward looking statements that involve known
and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different
from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these
forward looking statements.
Press release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/132866/R/1623312/518907.pdf
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Pharming Group N.V. via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1623312]