NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bioaccelerate Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB:BACL) a pharmaceutical development organization today announced that one of its portfolio companies, Inncardio Inc., a developer of products focused on cardiovascular drugs, has entered into an exclusive license and co-development agreements with the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. Under the terms of these agreements, Inncardio Inc. will benefit from certain exclusive commercial rights and the University of Strathclyde will receive a combination of research funding, development milestones and royalty payments. INC 105 is being co-developed by the University of Strathclyde and Inncardio Inc. for the prevention of restenosis in percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty and other percutaneous coronary interventions in particular arterial stenting. It is envisaged that INC 105 will be delivered from drug eluting stents using proprietary polymer technology.
Bernard Ross, Head of Bioaccelerate's Cardiovascular Division commented, "These agreements provide Inncardio Inc. with an entry into the drug eluting stent market that is estimated to achieve annual sales in excess of $5 billion by 2008." Bernard Ross added, "We have been very impressed with the breadth of cardiovascular, pharmaceutical and clinical expertise within the University of Strathclyde development team." Under the terms of the co-development agreements and associated work plans INC 105 will commence initial clinical trials in the UK.
Alan Harvey, Director of the University's PharmaLinks initiative said, "We are delighted that a key piece of our technology is moving forward through our deal with Inncardio Inc." We have been impressed by the company's strategy for developing products based on the outputs of university research, and we think that the interaction with Inncardio Inc. also shows the value in our model of multidisciplinary research collaborations available to companies through PharmaLinks."
About Bioaccelerate
Bioaccelerate Holdings Inc. ("Bioaccelerate") is a company that acquires and develops pharmaceutical compounds which its management believes have potential for substantial medical and commercial value. Bioaccelerate currently has majority equity interests in 10 biotech companies, two of which are public. Bioaccelerate also holds minority equity interests in three Biotech companies, two of which are public. The companies which Bioaccelerate currently has equity interests in focus on five vertical therapeutic areas: cancer, cardiovascular, lifestyle, central nervous system and anti-infectives. Bioaccelerate's strategy utilizes a development network to accelerate the development of multiple early-stage compounds to Phase II/III clinical development. Management believes this creates a lower-risk business model as Bioaccelerate's network enables a timely and cost-effective passage from the discovery process up to Phase II/III where substantial incremental value can be created. For more information on the company please see the company's website at www.bioaccelerate.com
About Inncardio Inc.
Inncardio Inc. is developing a product portfolio focused upon key areas of cardiovascular drug development; Inncardio's products are licensed in at pre-clinical or Phase I stages and are being taken through development and approval to market mainly through targeted licensing partnerships for each product, adding significant value to each in the process. This creates a valuable product portfolio in the cardiovascular market; a market forecast at conservative estimates to grow to US $115 billion by 2008.
About the Universtiy of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde has a substantial track record of successful pharmaceutical products being developed from its research activities. It is now working together with the University of Glasgow through its PharmaLinks initiative. PharmaLinks seeks pharmaceutical companies wanting early-stage drug development opportunities and top quality biomedical expertise. From 1500 biomedical researchers at the two universities, PharmaLinks offers access to commercial rights to patented IPR and drug discovery programmes (in oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular, inflammation, infection), and companies can commission customized milestone-driven drug discovery programmes.
About Restenosis
Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death in the industrialised countries, with over 30 million patients affected. Percutaneous balloon angioplasty is a highly effective treatment for restoring blood flow through an atherosclerotic artery. However, there is a high rate of relapse following angioplasty, even with the use of stents. Tissue within the angioplastied artery grows so that it can re-occlude the lumen (i.e., restenosis), necessitating surgery. Restenosis is due to proliferation of smooth muscle cells within the artery to form an abnormal lining that blocks the lumen of the artery.
This release includes forward-looking statements. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth herein.