FAIRFIELD, Conn., Nov. 9, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- Competitive Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:CTT) announced today that its licensee, Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:RZYM) participated in the presentation of results of an open label Phase I/II clinical trial with its lead anti-cancer compound, Angiozyme(tm). The primary endpoints of the study were safety and pharmacokinetics. Dr. David Weng of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation reported the results at the annual European Organization for Treatment of Cancer Conference in Amsterdam.
RZYM said that thirty-one patients with progressive cancer were treated at the Cleveland Clinic with doses of Angiozyme up to 300 mg/m2/day for at least 29 days with daily, at-home injections. Angiozyme, the anti-cancer ribozyme, was very well tolerated in this clinical study. Similar results were recently reported with the anti-Hepatitis C virus ribozyme Heptazyme(tm). Pharmacokinetic analyses demonstrated good bioavailability and support daily subcutaneous injections for future Angiozyme trials.
The Angiozyme report stated that, to-date, 17 (61%) evaluable patients have had stable disease for periods ranging from one to eight months. Four patients are continuing to receive Angiozyme. Further, two patients have had minor clinical responses including one case of central tumor necrosis.
CTT has exclusively licensed the ribozyme technology to RZYM. Revenues generated from sales of approved RZYM products using CTT technologies will produce royalties for CTT.
Mr. Frank R. McPike, Jr., President and CEO of CTT said, "RZYM continues to make progress in its Angiozyme clinical trials for cancer treatment. Millions of individuals around the world suffer from the devastation of cancer and Hepatitis B and C. RZYM's successful studies of treatments for these diseases is very encouraging."
"We are pleased with the trial results to date and are moving quickly to begin Phase II studies in breast, lung, colorectal, melanoma and renal cancer patients," reported Ralph E. Christoffersen, Ph.D., President & CEO of RZYM. "Angiozyme is designed to be a broad spectrum cancer drug that cuts off the blood supply to solid tumors, thus halting the growth and spread of the disease. We are gratified that several of the nation's top oncologists have agreed to run Phase II trials and hope to begin enrolling patients before the end of the year."
Phase II trials seeking evidence of anti-tumor effects will include a breast cancer trial, a colorectal trial, a melanoma study and a renal cancer trial. Lung cancer trials will also be initiated in early 2001.
Ribozymes are the product of Nobel Prize winning science and are synthetically engineered to act as "molecular scissors" capable of cleaving target RNA in a highly specific manner.
Competitive Technologies' licensee RZYM (www.rpi.com), located in Boulder, Colorado, is a leader in ribozyme therapeutic development. In addition to its collaboration with Chiron Corporation for the development and commercialization of Angiozyme, RZYM is also developing an anti-Hepatitis C ribozyme, Heptazyme, which has demonstrated potent efficacy in cell culture assays, and will soon be entering Phase II clinical trials in chronic Hepatitis C patients. A Phase I/II study was completed in September 2000. RZYM recently announced a development program for a ribozyme therapeutic against Hepatitis B. RZYM is also partnered with an affiliate of Elan Corporation plc for development of Herzyme(tm), an anti-HER-2 ribozyme for treatment of breast and other cancers, through RZYM's subsidiary Medizyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
About Competitive Technologies, Inc.
Competitive Technologies is a global leader in identifying, developing and commercializing innovative life sciences, physical sciences and digital technologies. Competitive Technologies' specialized expertise and experience make it a valuable partner for inventors, companies and universities of all sizes. CTT has been responsible for closing hundreds of licensing agreements. CTT clients and licensees include: Sony, Matsushita Electric Industrial, The University of Colorado, NTRU Cryptosystems, Inc., Palatin Technologies, Inc. and Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Competitive Technologies, Inc. is based in Fairfield, Connecticut and has affiliates in Osaka, Japan and London, England.
Statements about the Company's future expectations, including development and regulatory plans, and all other statements in this document other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Federal Securities Laws and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements involve risks and uncertainties related to market acceptance of and competition for the Company's licensed technologies and other risks and uncertainties inherent in CTT's business, including those set forth in Item 1 of the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2000 and other factors that may be described in CTT's filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. The Company's actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.