BOTHELL, Wash., July 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. announced today the issuance of a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office relating to treatment of obesity through the use of Peptide YY (PYY), a naturally produced hormone associated with the modulation of appetite in the brain. The Company is developing a proprietary PYY nasal spray to treat obesity. U.S. Patent No. 7,081,239 titled “Methods for manipulating upper gastrointestinal transit, blood flow, and satiety, and for treating visceral hyperalgesia,” comprises 12 claims that broadly cover methods for inducing satiety and treating obesity in mammals through the administration of PYY covering all methods of administration including nasal, oral and injectable routes of delivery.
Nastech acquired exclusive worldwide rights to this patent and other patent applications related to PYY from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA in May, 2004. Nastech has also recently filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct clinical studies of PYY nasal spray in obese subjects.
“The allowance of these broad and fundamental claims significantly enhances Nastech’s patent estate relating to PYY,” stated Steven C. Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, President and CEO of Nastech. “Nastech now has rights to the only U.S. patent claiming a method for treating obesity using PYY by any route of administration. We will continue to aggressively advance our worldwide PYY patent strategy in support of the development of PYY nasal spray to ensure that we maximize the commercial opportunity of this product.”
About PYY
Peptide YY is a naturally occurring hormone that is believed to function as a physiologic inhibitor of food intake. PYY is produced by specialized endocrine cells (L-cells) in the gut after a person eats and is believed to trigger the feeling of satiety, or fullness. Because PYY is a protein, initial studies focused on PYY delivery by injection. Utilizing its proprietary drug delivery technology, Nastech developed the nasal spray formulation of PYY as a unique, non-invasive treatment option for obesity.
About Obesity
There are more than 1 billion overweight adults worldwide, 300 million of whom are clinically obese according to World Health Organization. Obesity contributes to increased risk for chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. PYY nasal spray may offer a novel treatment option for those suffering from this condition.
About Nastech
Nastech is a pharmaceutical company developing innovative products based on proprietary molecular biology-based drug delivery technologies. Nastech and its collaboration partners are developing products for multiple therapeutic areas including osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, respiratory diseases and inflammatory conditions. Additional information about Nastech is available at http://www.nastech.com.
Nastech Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of Nastech to obtain additional funding; (ii) the ability of Nastech to attract and/or maintain manufacturing, research, development and commercialization partners; (iii) Nastech’s and/or a partner’s ability to successfully complete product research and development, including preclinical and clinical studies and commercialization; (iv) Nastech’s and/or a partner’s ability to obtain required governmental approvals; and (v) Nastech’s and/or a partner’s ability to develop and commercialize products that can compete favorably with those of competitors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in Nastech’s most recent periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nastech assumes no obligation to update and supplement forward-looking statements because of subsequent events.
CONTACTS: Nastech Ed Bell Senior Investor Relations Manager (425)908-3639 ir@nastech.com Noonan Russo Matthew Haines (Investors/Media) (212)845-4235
Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc.
CONTACT: Ed Bell, Senior Investor Relations Manager of Nastech,+1-425-908-3639, ir@nastech.com; or Investors/Media: Matthew Haines ofNoonan Russo, +1-212-845-4235
Web site: http://www.nastech.com/
