VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 27, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- biOasis Technologies Inc. (TSX-V:BTI) (http://www.bioasis.ca/) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Reinhard Gabathuler to the Scientific Advisor Board ("SAB") of the company. Dr. Gabathuler joins eminent SAB members: Dr. Michael Shannon, Dr. Avi Livnat, Dr. Lee Anderson, and Professor Terry Pearson to the SAB chaired by Professor Wilfred Jefferies.
Dr. Gabathuler was formerly Chief Scientific Officer at Angiochem Inc. (Montreal, Canada) and he also served as Vice President, Brain Research and Drug Delivery at BioMarin. Prior to joining BioMarin, Dr. Gabathuler served as Vice President of Research at Synapse Technologies Inc. Dr. Gabathuler holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Gabathuler completed post-doctoral research at the University of Washington, the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Stockholm, Sweden.
Therapeutic intervention in many neurological diseases is thwarted by the physical obstacle formed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that excludes most drugs from entering the brain from the blood. Thus, identifying efficacious modes of drug delivery to the brain remains a "holy grail" in molecular medicine and nanobiotechnology. A recent study co-authored by Dr. Gabathuler (http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0002469) provided proof of concept for the biOasis core technology as a carrier capable of shuttling therapeutic levels of drugs from the blood to the brain for the treatment of neurological disorders, including classes of resident and metastatic brain tumors. This study supports the implementation of this novel delivery platform in various clinical settings for therapeutic intervention in acute and chronic neurological diseases.
"biOasis stands poised to revolutionize the treatment of neurological disease," said Dr. Gabathuler. "My past experiences with the core technologies of the company and the exciting work done of late, has provided definitive proof that this technology is a unique carrier for delivery of therapeutic compounds beyond the blood-brain barrier. This platform technology is capable of transporting a large variety of therapeutic molecules, from small anti-cancer agents to large biologics, into the Central Nervous System. I am equally excited about the development of the company's diagnostic serum biomarker for Alzheimer's Disease, as there remains a need for non-invasive biological markers which can facilitate identification of Alzheimer's Disease, and be used in the assessment of response to emerging treatments for Alzheimer's Disease. The published data, from two independent double-blind studies, certainly supports the specificity of the biOasis serum biomarker in Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12214037) and its potential utility as a prognosticator of treatment outcome in Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11377921 also found at http://www.bioasis.ca/publications.html). This new biomarker could greatly enhance not only the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease, but also provide the rapid identification and assessment of new drugs to treat this dreadful disease."
"We are excited that Dr. Gabathuler has decided to join the SAB," commented Professor Jefferies, the lead inventor of the company's core technologies. "His prior work with the company's technologies while at Synapse and later at BioMarin, will be immensely valuable to biOasis and we all look forward to his contributions in applying these discoveries for the treatment of neurological diseases."
"Dr. Gabathuler brings significant corporate, and commercial experience in the development of technologies in the area of Blood-Brain Barrier delivery and we believe his willingness to join the team demonstrates a tremendous endorsement of the biOasis initiatives in this area," said Rob Hutchison, Chairman and CEO. "His strategic insights and his ability to articulate the scientific and commercial opportunities will be a great asset to the company."
ABOUT BIOASIS:
biOasis Technologies Inc. is a Biopharmaceutical company focused on the Health Care & Life Sciences market and is engaged in the development and commercialization of diagnostics and therapeutic delivery systems related to neurological diseases. It has extensive and comprehensive intellectual property ("IP"), which it obtained from The University of British Columbia. The Company's initial area of focus has been on the utilization of the IP to pursue a biomarker ("Cognitest™") for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. This IP has been corroborated in double- blinded and successive multi-site clinical trials.
The Company is also accelerating its work on its Blood-Brain Barrier Compound Delivery Platform ("Transcend™") that has been independently verified to shuttle a variety of therapeutic compounds across the Blood-Brain Barrier.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that may not be based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect" and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, events or developments, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, events or developments express or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such factors include, among others, our stage of development, lack of any product revenues, additional capital requirements, risk associated with the completion of clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval to market our products, the ability to protect our intellectual property, dependence on collaborative partners and the prospects for negotiating additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements and their timing. Specifically, certain risks and uncertainties that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from any future events or results expressed or implied by such statements and information include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties that: we may not be able to successfully develop and obtain regulatory approval for p97 as a Physician's Aid to Diagnose Alzheimer's, or future products in our targeted corporate objectives; our future operating results are uncertain and likely to fluctuate; we may not be able to raise additional capital; we may not be successful in establishing additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements; we may not be able to establish marketing and the costs of launching our products may be greater than anticipated; we have no experience in commercial manufacturing; we may face unknown risks related to intellectual property matters; we face increased competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and other factors as described in detail in our filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements and information made herein are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements and information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Robin Hutchison"
Director and CEO
(604) 542-5059
rob@bioasis.ca
"The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release."