DALLAS and NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.(OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP),a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes,reported it has been receiving positive clinical feedback from doctors and nurse practitioners prescribing MuGard for patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for various cancers. For example, Access received feedback from a prescribing nurse practitioner at a leading southwest oncology practice. MuGard was introduced to the practice over three months ago and since then has been incorporated into the supportive care regimens of approximately 80 cancer patients, comprised of head and neck, lung, colon and breast cancer patients.
Throughout the prescriber's feedback, provided to Access in a Q&A format, the nurse practitioner detailed many of the distinct benefits MuGard provided her patients, highlighting "MuGard has worked on all but one patient," and adding "MuGard has made a huge impact in our practice. Our patients are thrilled.they are absolutely ecstatic. It's the first product for oral mucositis we've had to give them that has made a difference." The feedback also covers prior unsuccessful treatments used by the prescriber for oral mucositis before learning about MuGard. The detailed feedback can be viewed under the "testimonials" section of the MuGard website, www.MuGard.com, or by clicking on the following link, http://www.mugard.com/testimonials/.
"The focus that this prescriber has given to integrate MuGard into patient care regimens coupled with the clear clinical benefit observed further validates the very powerful role MuGard plays in the prevention and management of oral mucositis when undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for many different cancers, including head and neck, lung, colon and breast cancer," said Frank Jacobucci, VP of Sales and Marketing, Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He continued, "We are pleased with the ongoing clinical success doctors and nurse practitioners are experiencing when prescribing MuGard to protect their patients from oral mucositis."
About MuGard:
MuGard is a novel, ready-to-use, easy-to-swallow, mucoadhesive oral wound liquid that provides a protective polymer coating over the mucosa. MuGard received 510(k) marketing allowance in the US with a broad indication for treating lesions of the mouth including the management of oral mucositis. In Europe, MuGard is a class IIa medical device which has been granted CE mark certification with the following indication: prevention and management of the lesions and symptoms of oral mucositis Up to 40% of all patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy develop moderate to severe mucositis, and almost all patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and those undergoing stem cell transplantation develop mucositis. Updated clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of mucositis recommend the use of a preventive oral care regimen as part of routine supportive care along with a therapeutic oral care regimen if mucositis develops. The market for the treatment of oral mucositis is estimated to be in excess of $1 billion world-wide.
About Access:
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes proprietary products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access' products include MuGard (www.MuGard.com), which has received FDA marketing clearance for the management of patients with mucositis, ProLindac, a second generation DACH Platinum in Phase 2 clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer, and Thiarabine, a novel nucleoside analog that has demonstrated both pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers; currently in a Phase 1/2a trial in hematological malignancies at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
The company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including CobaCyte-mediated targeted delivery and CobOral-oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism. For additional information on Access Pharmaceuticals, please visit our website at www.accesspharma.com.
This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include those relating to: our cash burn rate, clinical trial plans and timelines and clinical results for ProLindac, MuGard, Thiarabine and Cobalamin and other product candidates, our ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and our ability to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited to Access' need to obtain additional financing in order to continue the clinical trial and operations and to the risks detailed in Access' Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Access with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact: Company | Contact: Investor Relations | |
Christine Berni | Donald C. Weinberger/Diana Bittner (media) | |
Director of Investor Relations | Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Assoc. LLC | |
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | (212) 370-4500 | |
(212) 786-6208 | ||
SOURCE Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
