LAS VEGAS, July 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Samaritan Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMEX:LIV) a developer of innovative drugs, announced today, its Alzheimer's drug SP-233 (Caprospinol), not only stops amyloid plaque formation in the brain of an animal model for Alzheimer's disease but also shows that treatment with Caprospinol, results in the complete disappearance of amyloid plaques in the brain.
If similar results are attained in humans, Caprospinol might fulfill the long awaited hope for a life-saving, memory saving, Alzheimer's drug.
This new study, conducted in a rat animal model of Alzheimer's disease and led by Samaritan collaborating researchers at Georgetown University, found that rats exhibiting an Alzheimer's disease-like phenotype treated with a placebo solution retained amyloid plaques formed in the hippocampus and cortex of the brain, whereas, rats treated with Caprospinol found no detectable amyloid plaques.
Caprospinol is a novel drug that demonstrates neuroprotective properties in preclinical studies. In-vitro studies have demonstrated that caprospinol directly binds to beta-amyloid peptide, inhibits the formation of neurotoxic amyloid-derived diffusible ligands, and protects the mitochondria function by a direct action of the peptide on the organelle, thus protecting neuronal cells from beta-amyloid-induced toxicity.
http://www.samaritanpharma.com/images/steroidsspirostenols.pdf
Dr. Greeson, CEO of Samaritan Pharmaceuticals stated, "Our belief is, if we can clear the brain of amyloid plaques, it will lead to a clearing of Alzheimer's pathology for suffering patients. Numerous preclinical studies have given us cause to believe our findings will have similar implications in people and we look forward to demonstrating such, in clinical trials. We expect to file an IND for Caprospinol within the next month. If granted, this will be our first IND for an indication other than HIV which is pretty exciting for us moving forward developing two drugs through human clinical trials."
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The company disclaims any information that is created by an outside party and endorses only information that is communicated by its press releases, filings and Website. This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current beliefs about the potential for its drug candidates, science and technology. However, as with any biopharmaceutical under development, there are significant risks and uncertainties in the process of development and regulatory review. There are no guarantees that products will prove to be commercially successful. For additional information about the factors that affect the company's business, please read the company's latest Form 10-K filed April 13, 2006. The company undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements.