CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 2006--Next Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the results of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health on the potential benefits of Nexrutine ® (a proprietary extract from the bark of the Phellodendron tree) on prostate cancer. Scientists led by principal investigator, Dr. Pratap Kumar, at the Department of Urology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas have found that this herbal extract prevents the growth of prostate cancer cells in laboratory studies. These studies also found that blocking the activation of a transcription factor called CREB and a critical cell survival signaling kinase called Akt disrupted prostate cancer cell growth and induced cell death, a balance that is altered in cancer cells.
