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Serenex Announces Issuance of European Patent for Oral Mucositis Product SNX-1012

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 March 2007, 09:01 CDT

Serenex, Inc., an integrated oncology-focused drug discovery and development company, announced today the issuance of a patent covering methods of treating or preventing mucositis by the European Patent Office ("EPO"). The patent, EP 212050B1, covers a broad class of compounds in various formulations that may treat mucositis of multiple mucosal surfaces.

"We are pleased to have been awarded this patent from the EPO. The patent significantly strengthens our intellectual property estate surrounding SNX-1012 which now includes IP protection in both the U.S. and Europe," said Richard Kent, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Serenex. "The issuance of this patent is another important step toward the commercialization of SNX-1012, which we believe is a best in class product that will bring relief to cancer patients suffering from oral mucositis."

Oral mucositis results in inflammation and ulceration of the mouth and throat tissue lining and is the most common debilitating toxicity induced by chemotherapy and radiation therapy regimens. In severe cases oral mucositis can lead to patients requiring total parenteral nutrition, IV narcotic analgesics to control pain, and hospitalization. A serious consequence of oral mucositis is that it frequently leads to the interruption of radiation or chemotherapeutic treatment, which results in an undesirable decrease in efficacy. There are no approved therapeutic agents for the prevention or treatment of oral mucositis in solid tumor patients receiving radiation or chemotherapy and yet these patients represent approximately 90% of all oral mucositis cases. The size of this market in the U.S. is estimated to be more than $1 billion.

SNX-1012 targets multiple inflammatory and other key pathways involved in the pathophysiology of oral mucositis. The product is administered as a topical, transmucosal agent in the form of an oral rinse that interferes with many of the biological targets necessary for mucositis development. Four phase 1 trials have been successfully completed, including a phase 1b study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, which showed strong indications of pharmacological activity and an excellent safety profile. The product is currently in a phase 2 trial comparing multiple doses of SNX-1012 against placebo control.

About Serenex

Serenex is an integrated oncology-focused drug discovery and development company. Serenex's lead program, SNX-1012, a product for chemotherapy and radiation-induced oral mucositis in solid tumor patients, is scheduled to complete phase 2 clinical trials in early 2008. Oral mucositis, which represents a large and underserved market, frequently causes clinicians to interrupt therapy which directly leads to decreased rates of efficacy. Additionally, Serenex has a novel small molecule inhibitor of Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) which is scheduled to begin clinical trials in May 2007. Hsp90 is a central protein responsible for chaperoning a large number of oncogenic proteins (such as Her2 and Raf) that are necessary to support cancer cell survival and growth. Serenex's pipeline is powered by a proprietary high throughput screening platform which enables the company to profile compounds, en masse, against thousands of important therapeutic and toxicity targets. Website: www.serenex.com.

 CONTACT:  Ian Howes CFO & Sr. V.P. Corporate Development Serenex, Inc. 919/281-6031 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=8C3D2AA0B96C8436  Michelle Linn Linnden Communications 508/419-1555 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=1EFB3CC6E37E0817  

SOURCE: Serenex, Inc.

Source: MARKET WIRE

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