STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 17, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biolipox, a Swedish research-intensive pharmaceutical company in respiratory and inflammatory diseases, today announces that it has been selected to participate in the newly established European network EICOSANOX. This is a unique, multi-disciplinary consortium of highly qualified scientific groups in the area of life sciences, coordinated by the distinguished Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
The European Commission has decided to support the EICOSANOX-consortium as part of the EU 6th Framework Programme. This consortium brings together 12 research centers and biotech companies, from seven countries, working in the forefront of eicosanoid research (eicosanoids are important inflammatory mediators). After a comprehensive evaluation by the Commission's scientific experts, the EICOSANOX proposal was ranked no.1 within its category "Combat of major diseases". The total funding of the project amounts to 10.7 million euros.
Through the joint scientific expertise, the network will work to increase the understanding of the eicosanoids as well as nitric oxide and their role in inflammatory disease. The overall aim is that this increased knowledge will lead to the identification of novel targetsand strategies of significance for the development of new medicines in major disease areas.
The core of Biolipox operations is based on arachidonic acid and its conversion into biologically active substances e.g. prostaglandins and leukotrienes, also called eicosanoids. The company has currently three drug development projects within asthma, allergy and pain aimed at decreasing the formation and/or action of various eicosanoids. In this consortium, Biolipox will provide expertise in drug development, intellectual property management and technology transfer processes.
"We are privileged to take part in such a prominent network of scientists. This is clearly an acknowledgement of Biolipox's scientific quality," declared Dr. Charlotte Edenius, Chief Scientific Officer at Biolipox. "We also see this project as a perfect fit between academic research and Biolipox's applied research within the inflammatory field. With the synergy obtained by bringing the two worlds together, the likelihood of finding novel effective therapies for major diseases is greatly increased."
The full title of the network is: Eicosanoids and Nitric Oxide (EICOSANOX): Mediators of Cardiovascular, Cerebral and Neoplastic Diseases.
Further information on the EICOSANOX-project can be found on the Karolinska Institutet web site, a press release dated February 13, 2005.
For fact sheets, images and illustrations, please visit www.biolipox.com/press
Biolipox AB (publ) is a Swedish, research-intensive pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of new, effective drugs for the treatment of respiratory and other inflammatory diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), rhinitis, pain and arthritis (inflammatory diseases of the joints). Biolipox's scientific platform is represented by research into the metabolism of arachidonic acid -- arachidonic acid is an endogenous substance that indirectly influences several inflammatory processes in the body.
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