BEVERLY, MA--(Marketwire - March 12, 2012) - Cellceutix Corporation (OTCBB: CTIX) (“the Company”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat unmet medical conditions, is pleased to report that it has filed a pre-IND submission with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Prurisol™ (also termed “KM-133"), the Company’s drug in development as a novel treatment for psoriasis. The Company’s submission provides information to the FDA on Prurisol supporting a pre-IND meeting.
Cellceutix is requesting the meeting for guidance to attain approval for a section 505(b)(2) designation for Prurisol from the FDA, allowing its proposed clinical trials to begin in advanced stages. The ultimate goal of the meeting is to gain a full understanding of the studies required to support a New Drug Application (NDA) filing for Prurisol. According to 505(b)(2) guidelines, reliance is placed upon the FDA’s findings for a previously approved drug; allowing for a NDA approval to be received for a novel drug with a sponsor forgoing a portion of clinical trials and without a “right of reference” from the original drug maker.
“Prurisol is an ester of a FDA-approved drug that is used for different indications today,” commented Dr. Krishna Menon, Chief Scientific Officer at Cellceutix. “Because the safety and tolerability of the active ingredient have already been determined by the FDA, we are hopeful that it will meet the requirements to advance immediately to Phase 2/3 clinical trials, saving considerable time and money. As part of our planned meeting with the FDA, we will also discuss Prurisol’s eligibility for ‘Fast Track’ review, a designation that will further expedite our efforts to bring Prurisol to market.”
Cellceutix has previously disclosed images of mice treated with Prurisol demonstrating its effectiveness as compared to methotrexate, a standard care treatment for psoriasis today. More information on Prurisol can be found at: http://www.cellceutix.com/product-candidates/km-133---psoriasis-compound.html.
About Psoriasis
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is the most prevalent autoimmune disease in the United States, affecting as many as 7.5 million people, or 2.2 percent of the U.S. population, with associated costs of $11.25 billion annually. According to the World Psoriasis Day consortium, as many as 125 million people worldwide (2 to 3 percent of the Earth’s population) have psoriasis.
About Cellceutix
Cellceutix Corporation is a preclinical cancer, anti-inflammatory and autism drug developer. More information is available on the Cellceutix web site at www.cellceutix.com
Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, future collaboration agreements, the success of the Company’s development, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Factors that may impact Cellceutix’s success are more fully disclosed in Cellceutix’s most recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cellceutix Corp.
Leo Ehrlich
(978) 236-8717
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