NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Advanced Plant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:APPI) announced that the company has appointed Dr. Jie Wang as head of APPI's Scientific Advisory Board. Since 1994, Dr Wang has been the Assistant Professor for the Division of Circulatory Physiology and The Heart Failure Center at Columbia University Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Wang will assist in the design of the Lo-Chol clinical studies. In addition, Dr. Wang will provide assistance after the clinical studies begin at a number of prestigious U.S. hospitals.
The company is hoping that these study results, along with those study results derived from the previously announced studies to be conducted by Clinical Research Laboratories, Inc., may permit the company to apply for a disease claim approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) similar to food producers being permitted to claim that consumption of oats helps lower cholesterol. A joint venture agreement with a major pharmaceutical company, supported by the Lo-Chol clinical results, is targeted after final results are reported.
Lo-Chol(TM) is a unique, proprietary supplement that is produced utilizing APPI's patent pending "Whole Plant" process, which develops whole plant pharmaceuticals and nutritionals (http://www.uspto.gov). Patients with high cholesterol who experience the worst of the documented side effects that many prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs cause often seek alternative, natural supplements such as Lo-Chol(TM). This non-prescription market is approximately $250 million for the U.S. alone and is rapidly growing as a percentage of the overall $20 Billion prescription cholesterol-lowering U.S. market. A recent National Institute of Health (NIH) study reports that up to 101 million of the U.S. population has borderline high cholesterol--a market that may be addressed by non-prescription supplements such as Lo-Chol(TM).
Advanced Plant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (APPI) focuses on the research and development of plant-based dietary supplements. The Company has a patent pending process that utilizes whole plants to manufacture all natural dietary supplements. APPI uses this process to manufacture products, which the company plans to distribute worldwide through various sales distribution contracts or majority-owned spin-off companies. Current products include Sinusol (homeopathic allergy and nasal spray), Garlic, ACA (immune system booster) and the patented Lo-Chol. Corporate website: http://www.appi.cc
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning and pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein described, including but not limited to product development and acceptance, manufacturing, competition, regulatory and/or other factors, which are outside the control of the Company.