PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan’s recent Technical Insights analysis, Biopharmaceutical Developments - An Emerging Technology Analysis, selected RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. as the recipient of the 2005 Award for Technology Innovation. This is in recognition of the company’s development of the innovative Thymosin Beta 4 (TB4) technology platform for the treatment of chronic wounds caused by disease, abrasion, or other pathology.
The TB4 is a 43 amino acid peptide that is present in high concentrations in blood platelets, wound fluid, white blood cells, and most other tissues of the body. Its remarkable potential in treating chronic wounds is due to its ability to regulate actin, which plays a key role in cell division, cell movement, phagocytosis, and differentiation.
“Unlike other wound healing agents such as growth factors, TB4 is involved in a variety of cellular, immune, and physiological processes as well as in influencing stem cell proliferation and promoting angiogenesis,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst A. N. Aditya. “The compound has several more advantages than growth factors and can be produced at a low cost.”
TB4 enables T-cell differentiation and lowers endotoxin as well as chemotherapy-induced toxicity. It also induces human endothelial cell migration and acts as a potent chemo-attractant. The peptide reduces inflammation and shields newly formed tissue by reducing cytokines secretion.
TB4 has the ability to optimize zyxin and laminin-5 -- two genes that are important for cellular adhesion and migration. As an effective wound healer, TB4 frees radical levels, decreases lipid peroxidation, inhibits interleukin 1 and other cytokines, and decreases inflammatory thromboxane and prostaglandin.
“Studies carried out in several animal models have substantiated the fact that TB4 stimulates wound healing and promotes angiogenesis when applied topically or injected peritoneally,” observes Aditya. “Besides wound treatment, TB4 has shown promise in treating cellular damage due to heart attacks and also accelerates healing of the cornea in rodents.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared RegeneRx for initiation of the first three Phase II clinical trials for dermal wound healing in patients with pressure ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, and epidermolysis bullosa. Moreover, TB4 was given an orphan drug status for treating patients with epidermolysis bullosa.
The company holds more than 50 worldwide patents and patent applications and has an exclusive global license from the National Institute of Health for the TB4 platform. In the United States alone, nearly 2.6 million patients suffer from chronic wounds at any given time, and TB4 is expected to provide a satisfactory solution to the dearth of superior treatment options.
“The 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation recognizes RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. for its development of the revolutionary TB4 technology platform for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds,” notes Aditya. “The innovative technology represents a significant step forward in wound management, particularly for elderly patients, diabetics, immunosuppresed, and immobilized individuals.”
Each year this Award is given to a company that has carried out new research, which has resulted in innovations that have or are expected to bring significant contributions to its industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture. This Award recognizes the quality and depth of a company’s research and development program as well as the vision and risk- taking that enabled it to undertake such an endeavor.
About RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
RegeneRx (http://www.regenerx.com ) is a biopharmaceutical company developing TB4 as a platform technology for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds and for a variety of human diseases involving tissue and organ repair. RegeneRx holds an exclusive, world-wide license from the National Institutes of Health pertaining to wound healing and tissue repair. It also holds over fifty world-wide patents and patent applications related to dermal, ocular, and internal wounds and tissue repair, including the treatment and prevention of cardiac and neurological injuries, as well as issued patents related to the treatment of septic shock. RegeneRx recently initiated its first Phase II dermal wound healing clinical trials and has targeted cardiac and ophthalmic wound healing as part of its ongoing clinical development program in 2006.
About Frost & Sullivan
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Contact: Stacie Jones 210.247.2450 Stacie.jones@frost.com
Frost & Sullivan
CONTACT: Stacie Jones of Frost & Sullivan, +1-210-247-2450, orStacie.jones@frost.com
