VANCOUVER, Canada— iCo Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: ICO) is pleased to announce that a manuscript discussing iCo’s oral Amphotericin B (AmpB) formulation (“iCo-009”) has been published in a leading journal, the “International Journal of Pharmaceutics”. The paper illustrates iCo-009’s pronounced anti-fungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus or Candida albicans, two potentially lethal fungal infections.
The publication is titled “Development and characterization of oral lipid-based Amphotericin B formulations with enhanced drug solubility, stability and antifungal activity in rats infected with Aspergillus fumigatus or Candida albicans”.
Publication highlights: Treatment with iCo-009 significantly decreased total fungal colony forming unit (“CFU”) concentrations recovered in all the organs added together by >80% compared to non-treated controls, without significant changes in plasma creatinine levels in the Aspergillus fumigatus infected rats. CFU concentrations are important measures of the magnitude of fungal infection. Plasma creatinine levels are critical to understanding renal function, a key concern with some existing Amphotericin B intravenous formulations.
In addition, iCo-009 significantly decreased kidney fungal CFU concentrations by >75% at the 5 mg/kg dose and by >95% at the 10 mg/kg dose compared to non-treated controls without significant changes in the plasma creatinine levels in the Candida albicans-infected rats.
“To have iCo-009 once again highlighted in a leading peer-reviewed journal provides further validation of the potential of iCo-009,” stated Andrew Rae, President & CEO of iCo Therapeutics. “These are two important fungal models that lend us increasing confidence in the future success of the program.”
Reference:
Wasan, E.K., et al., Development and characterization of oral lipid-based Amphotericin B formulations with enhanced drug solubility, stability and antifungal activity in rats infected with Aspergillus fumigatus or Candida albicans. Int J Pharm (2009), doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2009.01.003. The paper is currently in press and is available online through the International Journal of Pharmaceutics’ website.
About iCo Therapeutics Inc.
iCo Therapeutics Inc. is a Vancouver-based development based company focused on in-licensing drugs with clinical history redosing or reformulating for new or expanded indications. iCo has exclusive worldwide rights to three products. iCo-007, a second generation antisense candidate licensed from Isis Pharmaceuticals, is currently in a Phase I trial in Diabetic Macular Edema patients with compelling early data. iCo-008 is a human monoclonal antibody targeting eotaxin-1 with Phase II clinical history, licensed from AstraZeneca/MedImmune. iCo-009 is a proprietary oral formulation of amphotericin B licensed from the University of British Columbia. To date, iCo has reported positive preclinical results for iCo-009. iCo Therapeutics trades on the TSX-Venture exchange under the symbol “ICO”. For more information, visit the company website at: https://icotherapeutics.com
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