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PhytoMedical Announces Plans to Bolster Ongoing Scientific Initiatives With Expansion of Research Team

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 09:00 CDT

PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:PYTO), an early-stage research-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the identification, development, and eventual commercialization of innovative plant-derived pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds, today unveiled plans to enhance its ongoing research efforts through accelerated expansion of its scientific research team.

"We believe that the time is right for us to fully leverage the Company's resources and aggressively advance our primary research through the addition of key scientific research staff," announced Mr. Indy Panchi, President and CEO of PhytoMedical Technologies.

"I'm particularly keen on seeing our early-stage scientific efforts move us towards synthesizing compounds that improve the action of insulin, and can be used to control blood sugars and fats," explained Mr. Panchi. "Our primary objective is to synthesize the active components found in cinnamon and characterize their beneficial health effects in cell culture systems, animals and ultimately humans."

Insulin potentiating components, which have been found in cinnamon and have already been isolated and characterized, may be very important in the control of glucose intolerance and diabetes. In fact, in test tube assays using fat cells, sugar metabolism has increased by a factor of 20. Impaired sugar and fat metabolism, present in millions around the world, may lead to type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

According to current estimates, diabetes now affects over 18.2 million Americans (American Diabetes Association) and is expected to rise to 30 million by 2030 (Centers for Disease Control). As one of the leading causes of death and illness worldwide, diabetes costs the American health care system over $132 billion each year.

Taking aim at diabetes, PhytoMedical earlier announced its research initiative to synthesize the active components of several polyphenolic compounds from cinnamon bark that have been isolated and characterized over a period of ten years by leading scientists.

(To review the Company's December 6th, 2004, press release, please click here: http://www.phytomedical.com/IR/PressReleases/20041206-1.html.)

About PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc.

PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:PYTO), together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is an early-stage research-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the identification, acquisition, development and eventual commercialization of innovative plant-derived pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds targeting cachexia, obesity and diabetes.

An estimated 300 new drugs of world-wide importance, worth over $150 billion, still remain to be discovered amongst the 250,000 species of higher plants found on earth, of which less than 15% have been investigated for bioactive compounds. Presently, twenty of the best-selling drugs come from natural sources and 25% of all prescription drugs contain active compounds originally derived from or patterned after compounds derived from plants.

BDC-03 Successful in Increasing Lean Muscle Mass and Reducing Body

Fat Percentage

Named BDC-03, PhytoMedical's first plant-derived compound has pharmacologically active elements that have been successful in reducing body fat percentage, increasing lean muscle mass and lowering cholesterol in studies of growing animals.

For obese or overweight individuals, BDC-03's potential capacity to decrease the deposition of fat and lower cholesterol would be a vitally important therapeutic outcome. However, its prospective ability to induce overall weight gain in the form of lean muscle mass may well be the difference between life and death for individuals suffering from cachexia.

Cachexia, which is characterized by dramatic weight loss, not only of fatty tissue, but also muscle tissue and bone, is among the most devastating and life-threatening aspects of AIDS and cancer. Once the body loses 30% of its lean muscle mass, major organs are affected, resulting in death.

Sadly, cachexia afflicts 25% of all AIDS patients and upwards of 90% of all advanced cancer patients. In fact, half of all cancer-related deaths are a result of cachexia, not the cancer itself.

Polyphenolic Compounds Increase Sugar Metabolism by a Factor of 20

Diabetes, which results from the body's inability to produce enough insulin or use it efficiently, affects 18.2 million people in the United States, or 6.3% of the population (American Diabetes Association). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects this number to rise to over 30 million by 2030. As the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, blindness and lower-limb amputations, diabetes now costs the health care system over $132 billion each year.

While the causes of diabetes are not entirely clear, it is known that diet plays a key role in the prevention and cure of diabetes. In fact, research studies have shown that aqueous extracts of the most commonly consumed spice, cinnamon, improves the action of insulin and helps to control risk factors associated with diabetes, including, glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides and related variables.

One study published in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association, showed that as little as one gram a day of cinnamon -- one-fourth of a teaspoon twice a day -- can lower blood sugar by an average of 18 to 29 percent, triglycerides (fatty acids in the blood) by 23 to 30 percent, LDL (or "bad") cholesterol by 7 to 27 percent and total cholesterol by 12 to 26 percent. Changes in HDL ("good") cholesterol were not significant. Amazingly, the study found that the beneficial effects of cinnamon lasted for at least 20 days after people stopped taking it.

Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, PhytoMedical is working towards synthesizing the active components found in cinnamon and characterizing their beneficial health effects in cell cultures systems, animals and ultimately humans.

At present, the Company does not currently have commercial products intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The statements contained in this press release regarding our ongoing research and development and the results attained by us to date have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

For additional information, please visit www.PhytoMedical.com.

To receive future press releases via email, please visit: http://www.PhytoMedical.com/Alerts-Index.asp.

To view the full HTML text of this release, please visit: http://www.PhytoMedical.com/IR/PressReleases/20050419-1.html.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

No statement herein should be considered an offer or a solicitation of an offer for the purchase or sale of any securities. This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, adverse economic conditions, intense competition, lack of meaningful research results, entry of new competitors and products, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, inadequate capital, unexpected costs and operating deficits, increases in general and administrative costs, termination of contracts or agreements, technological obsolescence of the Company's products, technical problems with the Company's research and products, price increases for supplies and components, litigation and administrative proceedings involving the Company, the possible acquisition of new businesses or technologies that result in operating losses or that do not perform as anticipated, unanticipated losses, the possible fluctuation and volatility of the Company's operating results, financial condition and stock price, losses incurred in litigating and settling cases, dilution in the Company's ownership of its business, adverse publicity and news coverage, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and research scientists, changes in interest rates, inflationary factors, and other specific risks. We currently have no commercial products intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. The statements contained in this press release regarding our ongoing research and development and the results attained by us to date have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. There can be no assurance that further research and development, and/or whether clinical trial results, if any, will validate and support the results of our preliminary research and studies. Further, there can be no assurance that the necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained or that PhytoMedical will be able to develop commercially viable products on the basis of its technologies. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent Form 10-QSB and Form 10-KSB filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Source: Business Wire

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