VANCOUVER, Canada— iCo Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: ICO) announced today that results from the company’s anti-fungal and anti-parasitic oral Amphotericin B program, “iCo-009”, will be presented at a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored event in Breckenridge, Colorado.
The conference, “Drug Discovery for Protozoan Parasites”, is part of the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The poster, “Highly effective oral amphotericin B formulation against murine visceral leishmaniasis”, will be presented during Poster Session 2 on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. The poster will highlight iCo-009’s activity against visceral leishmaniasis, (VL), a deadly parasitic disease affecting over 12 million people worldwide.
Oral administration of iCo-009 resulted in significant efficacy with no evidence of toxicity in Leishmania donovani-infected mice. iCo-009 formulations at 10 and 20 mg/kg twice a day for five days resulted in 99.5% and 99.8% inhibition of parasitic infection compared with those receiving vehicle control, with some animals exhibiting 100% eradication of liver parasites. iCo-009 has overcome Amphotericin B’s significant physicochemical barriers to absorption and holds promise for the development of a self-administered oral therapy for the treatment of VL.
Funding support for the VL study was received from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), iCo Therapeutics Inc., and the Consortium for Parasitic Drug Development (CPDD). Authors: S Thornton; P Gershkovich; X Zhu; R Tidwell; K Werbovetz; E Wasan; K Wasan; J Clement.
A manuscript detailing the results and methodology has been accepted in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and is currently In Press.
About iCo-009
In animal models, oral administration of iCo-009 has been shown to result in blood levels that are comparable to a known IV Amphotericin B product currently on the market. In both Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans rat models, iCo-009 has also shown significant antifungal activity with no observable kidney toxicity as assessed by plasma creatinine concentrations. iCo-009 was developed by Drs. Kishor & Ellen Wasan at the University of British Columbia. iCo Therapeutics acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to iCo-009 from UBC in May 2008.
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
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the content of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release may be considered forward-looking. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on iCo Therapeutics’ current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to iCo Therapeutics and relate to, among other things, anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory developments, market acceptance and future commitments. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by iCo Therapeutics in its public securities filings; actual events may differ materially from current expectations. iCo Therapeutics disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.