• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Chairman of CytRx Metabolic SAB and President of CytRx Laboratories Address 4th International Metabolic Diseases Drug Discovery World Summit

Posted on: Monday, 11 April 2005, 12:00 CDT

LOS ANGELES, April 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CytRx Corporation , a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of human therapeutics primarily in the area of small molecules and ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi), announced that the Chairman of its Metabolic Scientific Advisory Board and the President of CytRx Laboratories are presenters at the 4th International Metabolic Diseases Drug Discovery World Summit.

Michael P. Czech, Ph.D. is the keynote speaker at the Summit. Dr. Czech, who serves as Chairman of the CytRx Laboratories Metabolic Scientific Advisory Board, is a Professor and Chair of the Program in Molecular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is a recognized leader in the field of insulin action and signal transduction in diabetes and obesity, and recently developed methods using RNAi-mediated gene silencing to validate novel drug targets with the potential to treat obesity and diabetes.

Dr. Czech's presentation, titled "Novel Targets for Drug Discovery Through RNAi," focuses on using RNAi technology as a means to rapidly identify novel protein targets for the development of next-generation drugs for metabolic diseases. Through research funded by and exclusively licensed to CytRx, Dr. Czech's laboratory has developed a high-throughput, 96-well siRNA-based gene silencing system that determines the role of proteins in adipocytes or other cells on such functions as insulin sensitivity, GLUT4 regulation, fatty acid synthesis and oxidation and adiponectin secretion. Using this technology, Dr. Czech has identified several potential drug targets that CytRx is using in its development of small molecule therapeutics to treat diabetes and obesity. Dr. Czech will present data showing that siRNA knockdown of one of these targets, RIP140, affects key pathways in both fat and carbohydrate metabolism.

Mark A. Tepper, Ph.D. is President of CytRx Laboratories and Corporate Vice President of CytRx Corporation. Dr. Tepper's presentation, titled "Development of Chaperone Co-induction Activators for the Treatment of Type II Diabetes and Complications," focuses on the preclinical and early stage clinical development of arimoclomol for diabetes and diabetic complications. Arimoclomol is believed to function by a mechanism that stimulates a normal cellular protein repair pathway through the activation of "molecular chaperones." Since damaged proteins called aggregates are thought to play a role in many diseases, CytRx believes that activation of molecular chaperones with arimoclomol could show therapeutic efficacy over a broad range of diseases, potentially including diabetes and diabetic complications.

"These presentations by Drs. Czech and Tepper serve the important function of bringing CytRx research to the global scientific community," said Steven A. Kriegsman, President and CEO of CytRx. "The Metabolic Diseases Drug Discovery World Summit is a premier information networking meeting for the industrial diabetes and obesity market, and we are delighted to be a part of their programming."

The Summit is being held April 11-12, 2005 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Diego, California. Dr. Czech presented on Monday, April 11 at 8:15 a.m. PDT. Dr. Tepper is scheduled to present on Tuesday, April 12 at 2:45 p.m. PDT, and he will be available afterwards by appointment for one-on-one meetings.

The Strategic Research Institute is sponsoring the conference. More information, including a detailed agenda and registration information, can be found at http://www.srinstitute.com/ApplicationFiles/web/webFrame.cfm?web_id=334

About CytRx Corporation

CytRx Corporation is a biopharmaceutical research and development company, based in Los Angeles with a subsidiary in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Company is engaged in the development of products, primarily in the area of small molecules and ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi), in a variety of therapeutic categories. The Company recently acquired three clinical stage compounds and a library of 500 small molecule drug candidates from Biorex Research & Development Company. CytRx has a broad-based strategic alliance with the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) to develop novel compounds in the areas of ALS, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and CMV using RNAi technology. CytRx also licensed from UMMS the rights to a DNA-based HIV vaccine technology currently in a Phase I clinical trial. The Company has a research program with Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University's teaching hospital, to use RNAi technology to develop a drug for the treatment of ALS. For more information, visit CytRx's Web site at http://www.cytrx.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 early stage of CytRx's diabetes, obesity, CMV and ALS research, the need for future clinical testing of any RNAi-based products and small molecules that may be developed by CytRx, uncertainties regarding the scope of the clinical testing that may be required by regulatory authorities for the products acquired from Biorex and other products and the outcomes of those tests, the significant time and expense that will be incurred in developing any of the potential commercial applications for CytRx's RNAi technology or small molecules, CytRx's need for additional capital to fund its ongoing working capital needs, including ongoing research and development expenses related to the drugs purchased from Biorex, risks relating to the enforceability of any patents covering CytRx's products and to the possible infringement of third party patents by those products, and the impact of third party reimbursement policies on the use of and pricing for CytRx's 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.

CytRx Corporation

CONTACT: Ed Umali, Director of Communications of CytRx Corporation,+1-310-826-5648, ext. 309, eumali@cytrx.com; or Investor Relations, Jody Cain,jcain@lhai.com, or Bruce Voss, bvoss@lhai.com, both of Lippert/Heilshorn &Associates, +1-310-691-7100, for CytRx Corporation

Web site: http://www.cytrx.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

More News in this Category