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ProlX Pharmaceuticals Corp. Awarded Four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants By the NIH

Posted on: Thursday, 18 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick, CEO and co-founder of ProlX Pharmaceuticals Corp., announced today that the company has been awarded a number of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling over $1.2 million for the next 12 months. The grants support further pre-clinical development of ProlX's lead drug candidate the thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) inhibitor PX-12, as well as studies of drugs in the company's pipeline including HIF, PI3-kinase and thioredoxin reductase inhibitors.

About the ProlX Pipeline

Trx-1 is a redox protein which stimulates tumor growth that is over expressed in a wide variety of human tumors including colon, gastric and pancreatic cancer. PX-12, a small molecule which blocks the growth-promoting activity of Trx-1, has recently completed a Phase I trial for the treatment of end-stage metastatic cancer. Data from the trial suggest that PX-12 has efficacy at doses that have very little patient toxicity. Recently, additional data have shown in a mouse model that mimics the clinical and genetic condition of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), that low oral doses of PX-12 produce marked decrease in the size and number of colon tumors.

"Our preliminary data suggests that PX-12 may provide an effective agent for the prevention as well as aid in the therapy of human colon cancer," said Kirkpatrick. "This SBIR award will provide additional resources to study PX-12 in this critical area of colon cancer prevention for the patient population that may be genetically predisposed to the disease."

The other novel drug candidates in the company's pipeline include PX-478, an HIF-1alpha inhibitor, PX-866, a PI3-kinase inhibitor, and an early-stage thioredoxin reductase inhibitor. All agents have shown excellent activity in animal models, and the SBIR awards will further the pre-clinical development of these agents, moving each forward to evaluation in early human trials.

About ProlX Pharmaceuticals

ProlX Pharmaceuticals Corp. is a privately held biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer. The lead drug candidate PX-12 is entering a Phase Ib and Phase II clinical trial later this year, and its other agents are moving through pre-clinical development to enter trials in the next 12 to 24 months.

Source: Business Wire

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