KineMed, Inc.'s Angiogenesis Program Offers New Approach To Cancer Drug Development

EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMed, Inc., a pathway-based drug discovery and development company, announced today confirmatory results for the Company’s new, sensitive marker to test anti-angiogenic agents. As described in the poster entitled, “Measurement of Endothelial Cell Proliferation Rate in vivo Using 2H2O Labeling: A Kinetic Biomarker of Angiogenesis,” KineMed’s high-throughput, stable isotope labeling-mass spectrometric technology has the unique ability to accurately quantify the growth rate of endothelial cells -- angiogenesis -- in tumors and normal tissues in living organisms. The findings were presented at a poster presentation at this week’s Experimental Biology 2006 conference in San Francisco, CA.

Marc Hellerstein, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of KineMed, stated, “Angiogenesis has been implicated in many disorders, from diabetic kidney disease to cancer, but a reliable biomarker of angiogenic activity has been lacking. The findings we presented this week demonstrate that KineMed’s biomarker is able to accurately measure how the rate of new microvessel growth is affected by various compounds. Of particular interest, these measurements provided clear evidence that some tumors can exhibit angiogenic reserve, in which they are able to continue growing even in the presence of measurably reduced angiogenesis. This ability to differentiate tumors in terms of this reserve will have broad implications in the development of and individualization of therapy for new anti-cancer compounds.”

David Fineman, President and CEO of KineMed, commented, “With the confirmation of our results in angiogenesis, we address a major objective in the field of oncology and believe we now have the capability to transform how companies discover and develop anti-angiogenic drugs. We are actively seeking partners for drug discovery and development in indications related to angiogenesis, including diseases outside of oncology, such as diabetic kidney and eye complications or psoriasis, where angiogenesis plays a primary role.”

KineMed KineMarker(TM) Product Programs in Angiogenesis

KineMed’s proprietary in vivo KineMarker(TM) assays provide new, sensitive and high-throughput measures of several key biological pathways involved in the pathogenesis and treatment of angiogenic-related diseases, such as cancer and diabetic nephropathy. These assays can be used in clinical, as well as preclinical, settings.

KineMed’s Angiogenesis KineMarkers(TM) are much more sensitive, reproducible and high-throughput than traditional methods, such as microvessel density, and are safer and more reproducible than traditional radioisotope labeling methods.

About KineMed, Inc.

KineMed, Inc. is a pathway-based drug development company employing its proprietary biomarker technology (AquaTag(TM) and KineMarker(TM)) to measure the real-time activity of drugs in whole body systems. KineMed is developing therapeutics both on its own and with pharma collaborators, efficiently translating compounds into drugs with a desired biological effect on validated disease pathways. KineMed’s technology expedites the drug development process and has demonstrated results in metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration, diseases of inflammation and cancer, among other conditions.

For further information about KineMed, please visit: http://www.kinemed.com

KineMed, Inc.

CONTACT: Brent Vaughan, Chief Business Officer of KineMed, Inc.,+1-510-655-6525, ext. 110; or Media - Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan,+1-212-213-0006, jjackson@burnsmc.com, for KineMed, Inc.

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