TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 9, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- ImaRx Therapeutics, Inc. (www.imarx.com) is pleased to announce that two of its employees will be giving invited talks at scientific meetings during September.
Evan Unger, MD, FACR, President and CEO will present at the Society for Molecular Imaging, Third Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO, on Sunday, September 12, 2004, 2:30-4:15 p.m., Overcoming Biological Barriers with Acoustically Active Carriers and Ultrasound. Dr. Unger will present some of the early results of clinical trials of SonoLysis treatment of vascular thrombosis, as well as other therapeutic applications of acoustically active carriers.
Terry Matsunaga, PharmD, PhD, Vice President of Research will present at the 4th International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU 2004), Kyoto, Japan on Monday, September 20, 10:15-11:45 a.m., Sonothrombolysis with Phospholipid-Coated Perfluoropropane Microbubbles. Dr. Matsunaga will discuss how microbubbles can be used to clear clots from the vasculature.
SonoLysis uses ImaRx's proprietary microbubbles as cavitation nuclei with ultrasound to dissolve vascular thrombosis. ImaRx has nearly completed a Phase I/II clinical trial of SonoLysis to treat thrombosed dialysis grafts and is currently in a Phase I/II trial of SonoLysis to treat deep vein thrombosis (DVT). There are over 1 million patients diagnosed each year with DVT and there are currently no satisfactory treatments for DVT to rapidly and non-invasively restore venous patency.
John Moore, Chairman of the Board of ImaRx, said, "We are very excited about the clinical potential of SonoLysis for treating vascular thrombosis in conditions such as stroke, DVT and arterial occlusions as well as other NanoInvasive(TM) medicine applications of ImaRx technology. We refer to our technology as NanoInvasive because it is potentially less invasive than minimally invasive therapy and the microbubbles ImaRx has developed are smaller than a micron in size. Furthermore, the membranes stabilizing the microbubbles are only a few nanometers thick and the action of the microbubbles and ultrasound dissolves clots into submicron-sized nanoparticles."
About ImaRx
ImaRx is a privately held pharmaceutical company developing therapeutic technologies to treat cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases and cancers. The SonoLysis microbubbles are an optimized version of the microbubbles that ImaRx Pharmaceutical Corp. sold to DuPont in 1999 (subsequently acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Inc. (www.bmsmi.com). BMS's Definity(TM) is now a top selling diagnostic contrast agent. As part of the sales and licensing agreement, ImaRx retained all therapeutic rights to the microbubbles including SonoLysis. Phase II clinical trials for the therapeutic treatment of stroke and Phase I/II for acute limb ischemia are scheduled to begin later this year, while trials in myocardial infarctions, vulnerable plaque and blood brain barrier may commence as early as 2005.
Forward-Looking Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties and other factors not under the Company's control, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include results of current or pending research and development activities, actions by the FDA, and other regulatory authorities, and the Company's success in raising capital.