21st Apr 2005 07:00
Henderson Morley PLC21 April 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 21 APRIL 2005 HENDERSON MORLEY PLC (AIM) FURTHER UPDATE ON CROMA PHASE II TRIAL The Board of Henderson Morley plc ("Henderson Morley" or "the Company"), the AIMlisted Drug Discovery Company, announces that further to the update on thecurrent phase II trial currently ongoing in Austria and Slovakia, it hasreceived the following from Dr Martin Prinz, chief executive of Croma Pharma AG: "Work on the ocular application of the ICVT Phase II study, which we arecurrently conducting across six centres, is ongoing. However, I have to reportthat recruitment has been far slower than originally anticipated. We have nowtaken steps to try and improve the recruitment process including an awarenessprogramme with all doctors in the area, representatives calling on allophthalmic specialists and medical students have been recruited to hospitals toencourage patients to take part in the study. We hope that these measures willhave an effect in speeding up the progress of the trial. "Croma is still totally committed to the ICVT programme and will do everythingwithin our power to proceed as quickly as possible." Henderson Morley's Executive Chairman, Andrew Knight, comments: "We are certainthat we have the right partner in Croma. Whilst, the results are significantlylater than we had first envisaged, it is important that shareholders understandthat it would be commercially undesirable for the Company to seek an alternativepartner and to start a new trial with a new partner in a new territory. Cromahas already committed significant funds to this trial, and the Board believesthat these improved measures will progress the trial. "The Company continues to collect data on other disease areas relevant to ICVTand to work on improving formulation. In conjunction, with our BusinessDevelopment consultant, Dr Daniel Kirrcherr, we are continuing discussions withpotential partners for the dermal application of ICVT and, as soon as we are ina position to make an announcement in this respect, we will do so. "The Company has sufficient funding through the first quarter of 2006, and wewill be providing a further update when the Company announces its preliminaryresults within the next three months. "I would like to thank shareholders for their continued patience and support." --ENDS-- Copies of this announcement will be available free of charge to the public atthe Company's registered office at Metropolitan House, 2 Salisbury Road,Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JS and at the offices of Brewin Dolphin SecuritiesLtd, 34 Lisbon Street, Leeds LS1 4LX for 14 days. Enquiries: HENDERSON MORLEY PLC Tel: 0121 442 4600Andrew Knight, Chairman BREWIN DOLPHIN SECURITIES LTD Tel: 0113 241 0126Neil Baldwin H-B CORPORATE Tel: 020 7538 1166Jon Levinson BISHOPSGATE COMMUNICATIONS LTD Tel: 020 7430 1600Maxine Barnes Mobile 07860 489571Dominic Barretto Notes to Editors Ionic Contra Viral Therapy Developed in-house by Henderson Morley, ICVT is an innovative compound fortreating virus infections. It exploits the little known finding, that many ofthe biological processes involved with virus DNA synthesis are sensitive tolocal potassium ion concentrations. ICVT uses a proprietary combination of two established drugs currently used incardiovascular medicine that have no prior use as anti-virals. The componentdrugs used in ICVT cause depletion of intracellular potassium and inhibit thereplication of DNA viruses, while normal host cell metabolism and function isonly minimally affected. By combining two compounds that act on ion transport indifferent ways, the antiviral effect is enhanced. This combination thereforeoffers the prospect of preventing viral replication with little or no adverseeffects. The anti-viral effects of the two drugs in ICVT are synergistic. The effects ofICVT on host cell metabolism have been measured in a variety of cell lines andthe rate of cell metabolism is unaffected by prolonged incubation with ICVT.Pilot human studies have not demonstrated any local or systemic toxicity whenused at anti-virally effective doses. Additionally, the component drugs used in ICVT have a long history of beingwidely co-prescribed in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. As such, ICVToffers potential in the treatment of a range of viral infections for whichcurrent therapy is inadequate, such as adenovirus. The directors believe that no other antiviral treatments are under clinicaldevelopment for Adenovirus Keratoconjunctivitis, and if further studies provesuccessful ICVT could address a sizeable market of unmet medical need. ICVT is currently being investigated as a treatment for several other DNA virusinfections, and clinical developments will be reported in due course. About Croma Pharmacists G and K Prinz founded Croma in 1976 for the purpose of importingemergency drugs. In 1986 it began distributing pharmaceuticals for eye diseasesand ophthalmological diagnostic instruments, and over the last decade Croma hasestablished a wide range of products and services that has cemented its positionas one of the leading European companies in the field of ophthalmics. Croma has also established a large-scale GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)accredited manufacturing facility for ophthalmic products, which weredistributed throughout the territories. With its distribution of Intra Ocular Lenses, Viscoelastics, ophthalmic lasersand surgical instruments, Croma has established itself as a respected specialistin the area of Cataract Surgery. In recent years Croma has, in collaborationwith the Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics at theUniversity of Vienna, developed various novel biopolymer derivatives for use inthe eye. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
HML.L