CARLSBAD, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) announced today that Lloyd G. Tillman, Ph.D., Executive Director of Pharmaceutical Development of Isis has been awarded the American Pharmacists Association’s (APhA) 2009 Ebert Prize. Dr. Tillman received the award at the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition, April 3-6, 2009, in San Antonio, TX, for work published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences entitled “Oral Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides in Man.” His co-authors are Richard S. Geary, Ph.D. and Gregory E. Hardee, Ph.D. (1)
“I am deeply honored to be acknowledged by the APhA and presented with this year’s Ebert award. I would like to recognize my co-authors, whose advice and hard work contributed significantly to this publication,” said Lloyd Tillman. “Our work demonstrated, for the first time, that antisense drugs could be administered orally. The feasibility of oral administration has dramatically broadened the therapeutic and commercial potential of antisense drugs.”
The research, which was published in January 2008, provided proof-of-concept for the oral administration of antisense drugs in a single-dose study in man. Scientists at Isis continue to research advances to enhance the pharmaceutical properties of antisense drugs, including oral bioavailability.
“We are pleased that Dr. Tillman was recognized by the APhA to receive this award on our seminal work in advancing the oral delivery of antisense drugs. Creating antisense drugs that can be administered orally continues to be an area of active research for Isis, as oral administration can offer patients and physicians increased convenience and enhance the commercial profile of our antisense drugs,” said Richard S. Geary, Ph.D., Isis’ Senior Vice President, Development. “Since this research, we have completed a multiple-dose Phase 1 study that provided further evidence that antisense drugs are active and well-tolerated when administered orally.”
The Ebert Prize was established in 1873 by the APhA and is the oldest pharmacy award in the United States awarded annually to researchers who have reported significant results for original investigation published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
(1) Lloyd Tillman, Richard S. Geary, Gregory E. Hardee. Oral Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides in Man. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2008; 97 (1): 225-36.
ABOUT ISIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Isis is exploiting its expertise in RNA to discover and develop novel drugs for its product pipeline and for its partners. The Company has successfully commercialized the world’s first antisense drug and has 19 drugs in development. Isis’ drug development programs are focused on treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Isis’ partners are developing antisense drugs invented by Isis to treat a wide variety of diseases. Isis and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals are joint owners of Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of microRNA therapeutics. Isis also has made significant innovations beyond human therapeutics resulting in products that other companies, including Abbott, are commercializing. As an innovator in RNA-based drug discovery and development, Isis is the owner or exclusive licensee of over 1,600 issued patents worldwide. Additional information about Isis is available at www.isispharm.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Isis’ discovery and development of antisense drugs and the potential for Isis’ development of antisense drugs that can be administered orally. Any statement describing Isis’ goals, expectations, financial or other projections, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, particularly those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such products. Isis’ forward-looking statements also involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Isis’ forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Isis. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Isis’ programs are described in additional detail in Isis’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, which is on file with the SEC. Copies of these and other documents are available from the Company.
In this press release, unless the context requires otherwise, “Isis,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refers to Isis Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiaries.
Isis Pharmaceuticals is a registered trademark of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Regulus Therapeutics is a trademark of Regulus Therapeutics Inc.
