Data Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Hopkinton, MA, November 10, 1998—Creative BioMolecules, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBMI) announced today that OP-1 can enhance motor skills recovery in preclinical studies when administered up to 3 days following stroke. This significant therapeutic time window for intervention creates new possibilities for the design of stroke recovery trials. The research was conducted through a collaboration between Creative BioMolecules and the Massachusetts General Hospital.
OP-1 represents a unique approach to stroke. Most therapies in development or on the market attempt to limit the damage caused to the brain tissue and must therefore be administered within hours of the stroke’s onset. In contrast, OP-1 appears to enhance the body’s natural regenerative processes to help the brain compensate for areas damaged by the stroke.
"If these data are replicated in humans, OP-1 would provide doctors with a unique approach to stroke treatment. Therapies currently in development and on the market require intervention within hours of the stroke’s onset and often before a patient has reached the hospital. By providing a three day intervention window, we open up the possibility of making a stroke therapy available to the majority of stroke victims," commented Dr. Seth P. Finklestein, Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of CNS Growth Factor Research Laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Carl M. Cohen, Vice President, Research for Creative BioMolecules commented, "These studies provide the Company with important new data in support of our morphogenic protein-based stroke therapy. Previous studies have shown the unique ability of OP-1 and other related proteins, including BMP-6, to promote the formation of new connections between nerve cells. These new data move us closer to the development of a human therapy."
In addition to its stroke research with the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Company has recently announced a collaboration with The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis for research into treatments for stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, and with the University of Colorado for research into treatments for Parkinson’s Disease.
Stroke is a medical emergency in which some of the brain’s blood supply is suddenly restricted or cut-off causing the death of brain tissue. Each year, approximately 550,000 Americans suffer a stroke. It is the number one cause of adult disability with an estimated 3 million survivors in the United States, many with impaired speech and movement requiring assistance in daily living. There is currently limited treatment available.
Creative BioMolecules is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for human tissue regeneration and repair.
This news release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from the Company’s expectations include, without limitation, the course of the research and development programs, including preclinical demonstration of safety and efficacy in the neurology field, achievement of development and regulatory milestones by the Company and completion of clinical testing, the impact of competitive products, the timely receipt of regulatory clearances required for clinical testing, manufacturing and marketing of products and the other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic reports.
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