CytRx Initiates Broad RNAi Program To Develop Novel Therapies For Treating Major Diseases Associated With CMV

January 13, 2004

LOS ANGELES/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Further expanding its collaboration with a world pioneer in RNA interference (RNAi) technology, CytRx Corporation today announced it has signed a new agreement with the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) under which CytRx will fund research at UMMS for the further development of proprietary gene silencing technology for use in the treatment of diseases caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV), with an initial focus on CMV retinitis.

This program provides CytRx with worldwide commercial rights under an exclusive license with UMMS to any potential products that are developed based on this cutting-edge technology. It has been estimated that the health care burden of CMV infection is more than $4 billion per year in the United States alone, according to the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine.

Steven A. Kriegsman, CytRx's chief executive officer, said "The key to the UMMS technology for CMV retinitis is the delivery method. Because CMV retinitis is localized in the eyes, it can potentially be treated via direct delivery of RNAi compounds into the eye, itself, at the site of the infection. We are hopeful that this technology will demonstrate that RNAi can work in humans, which will be an enormous breakthrough, and plan to quickly move into clinical trials following successful completion of the research that will be funded at UMMS. Our strategy is to develop a RNAi therapeutic for CMV retinitis and then to expand our collaboration efforts into developing RNAi therapeutics for other CMV indications."

Kriegsman said that Timothy Kowalik, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology at UMMS, will head the CMV research program. Dr. Kowalik performed his postdoctoral research in the lab of Eng-Shang Huang, Ph.D., one of the world's leading CMV investigators. Dr. Kowalik has also won numerous awards, including the prestigious American Heart Association's Scientific Development Award for his investigations linking restenosis occurrence with CMV reactivation.

CMV is a herpes virus, part of the family of viruses that cause genital herpes, cold sores, or fever blisters, chicken pox and infectious mononucleosis. CMV is present in nearly everyone, although a healthy immune system in healthy individuals can successfully fight the virus by developing antibodies. People with impaired immunity, however, such as HIV/AIDS patients or organ transplant recipients, are extremely susceptible to CMV through reactivation of the virus. CMV is the most common type of virus that affects HIV patients.

"We are excited by the dynamic potential RNAi gene silencing brings to fighting this disease," said Kriegsman.

CMV retinitis, a serious vision-threatening infection that can lead to permanent blindness, affects up to 46% of all immunocompromised people, including organ transplant recipients and AIDS patients. Approximately 800,000 reported cases of AIDS exist in the United States, with up to 46% of these patients suffering from retinitis. According to the World Health Organization, in December 2002, more than 42 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS.

The CMV agreement is part of CytRx's broad-based strategic alliance with UMMS utilizing RNAi technology, which also includes exclusive licensing agreements for the use of RNAi in the development of therapeutic products to treat obesity, type 2 diabetes and ALS. Discovered in 1997 by UMMS faculty member Craig Mello, Ph.D. in collaboration with Andrew Fire, Ph.D., at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, RNAi is becoming an increasingly important tool in biomedical research. The technology essentially uses ribonucleic acid to selectively silence genes within a living cell. Beyond providing researchers with a new way to understand gene function, the platform technology may also offer a comprehensive means of advancing effective new drug development.

About CytRx Corporation

CytRx Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of large-market opportunity products in a variety of therapeutic categories. The company formed a broad-based strategic alliance with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to develop novel compounds for obesity, type II diabetes and ALS, including using a promising new technology known as RNA interference (RNAi). CytRx also has licensed from UMMS the exclusive worldwide rights to a DNA-based HIV vaccine technology. In addition, the company recently initiated a research program with Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University's teaching hospital, to use RNAi technology to develop a drug for the prevention, treatment or cure for ALS. The company has licensed its TranzFect delivery technology for DNA-based vaccines for certain diseases. A CytRx subsidiary also holds interests in two development stage genomics-based healthcare companies. For more information, visit CytRx's website at www.cytrx.com .

About The University Of Massachusetts Medical School

The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), based in Worcester, MA, is one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country. UMMS has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $151 million in research funding annually, 80% of which comes from federal funding sources. Research funding enables UMMS scientists to explore human disease from the molecular level to large-scale clinical trials. Basic and clinical research leads to new approaches for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Visit www.umassmed.edu for additional information.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in the forward-looking statements, including risks or uncertainties related to the need to successfully complete preclinical studies before initiating human testing of RNAi for the treatment of retinitis, the time and expense to develop commercial applications for its RNAi technology, including CMV retinitis, and CytRx's DNA-based vaccine and the uncertainty of potential results from the future clinical trials for these products, competition with other companies developing RNAi based therapeutic products and with other products for the treatment of retinitis, and the potential need for additional capital for CytRx to make future milestone payments and to fund research for its various products. Additional uncertainties and risks are described in CytRx's most recently filed SEC documents, such as its most recent annual report on Form 10-K, all quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and any current reports on Form 8-K filed since the date of the last Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to CytRx on the date the statements are first published. CytRx undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Copyright © 2004 Yahoo.com.

Copyright © 2004 PR Newswire

This article posted February 8, 2004.