Vienna, Austria, 5 October, 2009 - Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH, a company focused on the development of innovative therapies in virology and immunology, announced positive results in an interim analysis of an ongoing clinical study investigating the effects of Carragelose® on the early treatment of common cold symptoms in children. The results were presented on 2 October by Dr. Philipp Eickhoff and the principal investigator Dr. Tamas Fazekas at the Infectious Diseases session of the 47th Meeting of the Austrian society for paediatrics (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kinder und Jugendheilkunde) in Graz, Austria. Carragelose® is the active ingredient of Coldamaris Prophylactic, Marinomed’s first product, which is marketed in Austria under license with Sigmapharm Arzneimittel GmbH & Co KG.
The ongoing study is a single centre, randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled comparative study of 150 patients between one and 18 years old (average age: five) at the St. Anna Children Hospital, Vienna (the leading paediatric research institute in Austria). These interim results including 84 patients indicate that Carragelose® has an excellent safety profile and has demonstrated an antiviral effect which resulted in a faster reduction of cold symptoms compared to placebo.
Dr Andreas Grassauer, CEO and co-founder of Marinomed, commented: “The excellent safety profile of Coldamaris Prophylactic has once again been validated by this St. Anna Children Study. However, we are especially delighted that the interim results also indicate that Coldamaris Prophylactic appears to be an effective antiviral treatment with a role to play in treating the viral cause of the common cold.”
At the same time, Marinomed also announced that it has received, for the 3rd year running, a significant grant from Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft (FFG) in subsidy and loan. A previous grant from the FFG funded the St. Anna study described in this release. Marinomed plans to use the funds for further investigation their lead compound Carragelose® in other respiratory indications.
About Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH
Marinomed is a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing innovative naturally-derived immunological and antiviral treatments. The Company’s discovery platform, Imuvirex®, is a broad combination of powerful in vitro and in vivo screens that allow product candidates to be selected against viral and immune targets. Marinomed has already used these platforms to discover and develop Carragelose©, a unique broadly active antiviral compound for treating respiratory diseases. Carragelose© is approved for marketing in the EU as an anti-viral nasal spray and is also being investigated for use in a range of other products. The second product candidate, MAM-06.301, is a “first in class” compound in Phase II for allergy. Marinomed has an additional pipeline of preclinical programmes for immune-based disorders and infectious diseases. Located in Vienna, Austria, Marinomed was founded in March 2006 as a spin-off from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Further information on Marinomed can be found at www.marinomed.com
