WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interleukin Genetics, Inc. , announced today that Kenneth Kornman, Ph.D., the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, will present important new research findings on the genetics of osteoarthritis (OA) at the 2008 World Congress on Osteoarthritis, sponsored by the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI). The 2008 World Congress on Osteoarthritis takes place Sept. 18-21, 2008, at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel in Rome, Italy.
Dr. Kornman will give an oral presentation, titled, “IL-1 RN Polymorphisms are Associated with Radiographic Severity in Osteoarthritis,” on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 in the Tiziano B room at 9:50 a.m. CEST. In addition, new findings by Interleukin Genetics and collaborators, titled “Genetic Markers Associated with Generalized Osteoarthritis,” will be presented during the poster session all day on Friday, Sept. 19, 2008, in the Foyer Tiziano room.
Dr. Kornman, Interleukin Genetics’ Chief Scientific Officer and one of the authors of the two presentations, commented, “The new findings are based on a genetic test in development by Interleukin Genetics. The genetic test appears to identify knee OA patients who are likely to develop more severe joint destruction as they age. This information should be valuable in guiding the medical management of high risk patients and could be especially helpful in directing use of potential future disease modifying drugs for OA to achieve optimal benefit.”
The new genetic findings are the result of research collaborations with Dr. Steven Abramson and Dr. Mukundan Attur of the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases and Dr. Virginia Byers Kraus of the Duke University Medical Center. The studies evaluated a broad range of gene variations in OA populations from both institutions. Three commonly occurring variations in the gene for IL-1 receptor antagonist were found to be strongly and significantly associated with severe knee OA, as measured on radiographs.
In addition, variations in three separate genes involved in inflammation were found to predict which knee OA patients are more likely to develop OA in their hands, a more generalized form of the disease that adds further complications to the patient’s daily activities.
About Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a debilitating, degenerative joint disease and the leading cause of physical disability in modern societies. According to data on the American College of Rheumatology website, approximately 21 million adults in the U.S. have joint pain and limited movement consistent with a diagnosis of OA. It has been estimated that 45 percent of adults will develop knee OA as they age. Many OA patients experience minimal changes in their symptoms over time and manage their disease symptoms for many years with non- prescription pain medications. A substantial number of other patients will develop severe destruction of the bone and joint tissues leading to compromised physical activity and more generalized disease affecting the hands. Severe structural deterioration impairs the quality of life and often leads to disability and joint replacement. In the U.S. approximately 500,000 patients received joint replacement surgery in 2007. There are currently no drugs approved for modifying disease progression of OA, but several drugs are in mid-to-late stages of development.
About the Studies to be Reported at OARSI
Adults with confirmed knee OA were analyzed for genetic variations involved in inflammation and in regulating the status of cartilage and bone tissues that compose the joints. One study investigated whether gene variations were associated with more severe OA. It was found that common genetic variations in the IL-1 receptor antagonist gene were significantly more frequent in patients with severe knee OA as compared to those with mild OA. In a second study, specific gene variations were investigated to determine whether these markers were predictive of which knee OA patients also had hand OA. It was found that a combination of variations in the genes for IL-1b, TNFa, and IL-1 receptor antagonist were significantly more frequent in knee OA patients who also had hand involvement compared to patients who had knee OA but did not develop hand OA as they aged.
About Interleukin Genetics
Interleukin Genetics, Inc. , is a genetics-focused personalized health company that develops preventive consumer products and genetic tests for sale to the emerging personalized health market. Focused on the future of health and medicine, Interleukin Genetics uses its leading genetics research and scientific capabilities to develop and test innovative preventive and therapeutic products. Interleukin Genetics currently offers an array of Nutraceuticals and OTCeuticals(R), including Ginkoba(R), Ginsana(R) and Venastat(R) which are sold at the nation’s largest food, drug and mass retailers, and has commercialized genetic tests for periodontal disease risk assessment, cardiovascular risk assessment, and general nutrition assessment. Interleukin Genetics is headquartered in Waltham, MA. For more information about Interleukin Genetics, its products and ongoing programs, please visit www.ilgenetics.com.
Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking” statements including statements regarding our ability to develop diagnostic, personalized nutritional and therapeutic products to prevent or treat diseases of inflammation and other genetic variations, our ability to screen nutritional compounds for their effects on inflammatory responses and other genetic variations, given specific genetic patterns and our ability to make progress in advancing our core technologies. Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risk of market acceptance of our products, the risk of technology and product obsolescence, delays in product development, the performance of our commercial partners, the availability of adequate capital, the actions of our competitors and other competitive risks, and those risks and uncertainties described in our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other documents we file with, or furnish to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation or intention to update these forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Media: Lisa Rivero of LaVoie Group, +1-978-745-4200 x106,
lrivero@lavoiegroup.com, www.lavoiegroup.com; or Investor Relations:
Melanie Friedman of Stern Investor Relations, +1-212-362-1200,
melanie@sternir.com
Web site: http://www.ilgenetics.com//
