Aeolus Pharmaceuticals’ Lead Compound to Be Tested in NIH Sponsored Mustard Gas Treatment Study
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:AOLS) announced today that Researchers at National Jewish Medical & Research Center and the University of Colorado Health Sciences in Denver, Colorado have been awarded a 5 year Center grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Research Network to support the development of compounds to protect and treat lung and skin injury associated with mustard gas exposure. One of the lead compounds being tested in studies to be conducted this summer is Aeolus Pharmaceuticals’ AEOL 10150.
The CounterACT grants are designed to support research in the development of new and improved therapeutics and diagnostic techniques to enhance the nation’s medical response capabilities in the event of a terrorist chemical threat. Chemical threats are defined by the NIH as toxic chemical agents that could be used in a terrorist attack against civilians, or those that could be released at toxic levels by accident or natural disaster. Research in the area of mustard gas-mediated lung injury has provided experimental evidence that the mechanisms of these injuries are directly linked to the formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and that superoxide dismutase and catalase can ameliorate injury responses. This theory has led to the hypothesis that the administration of catalytic antioxidant therapy can protect against mustard gas-induced acute lung and dermal injury. AEOL 10150 has already been shown to be well tolerated in humans and could be rapidly developed towards a NDA pending animal efficacy data.
About Aeolus Pharmaceuticals
Aeolus is developing a variety of therapeutic agents based on its proprietary small molecule catalytic antioxidants, with AEOL 10150 being the first to enter human clinical evaluation. AEOL 10150 is a patented, small molecule catalytic antioxidant that has shown the ability to scavenge a broad range of reactive oxygen species, or free radicals. As a catalytic antioxidant, AEOL 10150 mimics and thereby amplifies the body’s natural enzymatic systems for eliminating these damaging compounds. Because oxygen-derived free radicals are believed to have an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases, Aeolus’ catalytic antioxidants are believed to have a broad range of potential therapeutic uses. The Company intends to develop, or partner for development, AEOL 10150 for protection of healthy cells in cancer radiotherapy, and plans to develop its first oral compound, AEOL 11207, for chronic neurodegenerative diseases.
The statements in this press release that are not purely statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, those relating to Aeolus’ product candidates, as well as its proprietary technologies and research programs. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Aeolus’ actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause results to differ include risks associated with uncertainties of progress and timing of clinical trials, scientific research and product development activities, difficulties or delays in development, testing, obtaining regulatory approval, the need to obtain funding for pre-clinical and clinical trials and operations, the scope and validity of intellectual property protection for Aeolus’ product candidates, proprietary technologies and their uses, and competition from other biopharmaceutical companies. Certain of these factors and others are more fully described in Aeolus’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Aeolus’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.