EMERYVILLE, Calif., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMed, Inc., a platform- based indications discovery and development drug company, announced two poster presentations at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis meeting in Boston, MA. These presentations described, for the first time, in vivo measurements of cell and matrix molecule turnover in models of joint degeneration. Evidence for a promising biomarker of early osteoarthritis (synovial fluid hyaluronan turnover) was presented.
As covered by the poster entitled, “Simultaneous measurement of cell and matrix turnover in experimental models of cartilage degeneration,” the Company demonstrated the ability of KineMed’s stable isotope labeling and mass spectrometric analysis to measure cell proliferation and matrix component turnover, simultaneously, in both cartilage explants and animal models, for the first time. There has been no previous method for measuring kinetic changes in these joint parameters.
In the second poster presentation, entitled, “Synovial fluid hyaluronan: A potential kinetic biomarker of early osteoarthritis,” the researchers reported the ability of KineMed’s stable isotope labeling and mass spectrometric analysis to demonstrate that hyaluronan turnover can discriminate between joints that are normal and those that are degenerating within one day.
David Fineman, President and CEO of KineMed, commented, “This test provides unique measures of disease activity and is applicable to both monitoring disease progression and measuring the efficacy of treatments. Most importantly, these measures detect changes earlier than other measures of joint remodeling or degradation.”
Marc Hellerstein, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of KineMed, stated, “This work describes a promising new strategy for monitoring disease activity and drug effects in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a multifactorial condition. KineMed scientists have found that the turnover of one molecule (hyaluronic acid) in joint fluid is increased in three different models of cartilage damage. This finding suggests that measurement of hyaluronic acid kinetics may have general use as a minimally invasive biomarker of disease progression and therapeutic efficacy. In contrast, the finding that chemical vs. mechanical damage has different effects on the turnover of another molecule (chondroitin sulfate) demonstrates the capacity to monitor specific etiologies of joint degeneration and their individual responses to therapy.”
Dr. Hellerstein concluded, “These presentations therefore may open the door to specific as well as general tools for monitoring osteoarthritis and its treatment.”
KineMed KineMarker(TM) Product Programs in Osteoarthritis
KineMed’s proprietary in vivo KineMarker(TM) assays provide new, sensitive and high-throughput measures of several key pathways involved in the pathogenesis and treatment of degenerative joint conditions. These assays can be used in clinical as well as pre-clinical settings.
KineMed’s Cartilage Matrix KineMarkers(TM) are much more sensitive, reproducible and high-throughput than traditional methods, such as histological staining.
About KineMed, Inc.
KineMed, Inc. provides a proprietary set of tools for measuring the dynamics of molecular and cellular response to drugs in the intact organism, both in animals and humans. KineMed’s technology is ideally suited to enable the discovery of entirely new, unanticipated uses for compounds (an approach called repurposing or repositioning) by screening for activity in vivo across a wide variety of disease states. The breadth of therapeutic targets covered by KineMarker(TM) assays allows high-throughput screening in conditions beyond those typically evaluated. KineMed’s technology expedites the drug development process and provides real-time insight into conditions including metabolic disorders, cancer, and diseases of inflammation and neurodegeneration.
For further information about KineMed, please visit: http://www.kinemed.com
KineMed, Inc.
CONTACT: Lisa Misell, Ph.D., Vice President of Business Development ofKineMed, Inc., +1-510-655-6525, ext. 117; or Media: Justin Jackson of BurnsMcClellan, +1-212-213-0006, jjackson@burnsmc.com, for KineMed, Inc.
Web site: http://www.kinemed.com/
