Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Access Pharmaceuticals Announces Initiation of Two New Cobalamin(TM) Oral Insulin Drug Delivery Collaborations"

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Abstract:
Cobalamin oral insulin and oral human growth hormone formulations provide significant pharmacological responses

Access Pharmaceuticals Announces Initiation of Two New Cobalamin(TM) Oral Insulin Drug Delivery Collaborations

Dallas, TX | Posted on June 17th, 2009

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP) announced today that the Company has signed evaluation agreements with two biopharmaceutical companies for its Cobalamin(TM) Oral Drug Delivery Technology. Under the terms of the agreements, both companies plan to evaluate Access' Oral Insulin product in preclinical models as a prerequisite to entering licensing discussions. Access announced previously that it had an agreement with a large pharmaceutical company for the evaluation of Cobalamin oral drug delivery formulations of human growth hormone (hGH).

"While all of the products and technologies which we chose to showcase at the recent BIO 2009 conference in Atlanta attracted a great deal of interest, it was clear that the Cobalamin oral drug delivery technology generated the most interest," commented Phillip Wise, Access' Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. "We are delighted that two companies have decided to take a closer look at the Cobalamin oral drug delivery technology. Meanwhile, we have several ongoing discussions with other companies regarding the application of our oral drug delivery options for their promising new drugs."

The proprietary Cobalamin(TM) technology utilizes the body's natural vitamin B12 oral uptake mechanism to facilitate oral absorption of pharmaceuticals by a "Trojan horse" mechanism. Since presenting promising results at a scientific conference in mid-2008, Access has made substantial improvements to the formulation technology. A new Cobalamin-coated insulin-containing nanoparticle formulation delivered orally provided a pharmacological response (lowering of blood glucose levels in an animal model of diabetes) equivalent to 90% of that achieved by insulin delivered subcutaneously. This represents a substantial oral bioavailability, indicating that this formulation has potential for clinical development and ultimate commercialization. Adaptation of this technology has provided a Cobalamin human growth hormone formulation that has demonstrated good efficacy, represented by more than 25% improvement in weight gain, when given orally in an established animal model. Access continues to move both products towards clinical development, and plans to submit an additional patent application to protect the improvements to the technology

"While Access' focus has been on the oral delivery of peptides, the technology is sufficiently flexible to allow us to deliver a wide range of actives," commented David P. Nowotnik, Ph.D, Access' Senior Vice President of R&D. "In addition to peptide delivery, we have received inquiries recently about the potential of this technology to deliver actives ranging from small molecules to siRNA to monoclonal antibodies. As siRNA needs to be delivered intracellularly to be effective as a therapeutic, the Cobalamin technology may be particularly beneficial as an intracellular delivery technology, as the demand for vitamin B12 increases in many disease states."

The ability of the Cobalamin technology to increase the efficacy of a cytotoxic drug through enhanced delivery to tumor cells was demonstrated in a preclinical model. This work was presented by Access at a major scientific meeting in 2008.

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About Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access' products include ProLindac(TM), currently in Phase 2 clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer, and MuGard(TM) for the management of patients with mucositis. The company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including Cobalamin(TM)-mediated targeted delivery and oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism; and Angiolix(R), a humanized monoclonal antibody which acts as an anti-angiogenesis factor and is targeted to breast cancer. Thiarabine is a new generation nucleoside analog which has demonstrated both pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers.

This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include those relating to: our ability to close the financing transaction, early results from our clinical trial, Access' plans to continue and initiate clinical trials, the value of its products in the market, its ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and its ability to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited Access' need to obtain additional financing in order to continue the clinical trial and operations and to the risks detailed in Access' Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Access with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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