FeRx Reports Results On Magnetically Targeted FUDR as Potential Means of Treating Colon Lesions.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2002

Study Shows Promising Results for Potential Targeted Drug Delivery

of Pharmaceutical Agents in the Treatment of GI Diseases

FeRx Inc., a targeted drug

delivery company, today reported encouraging data at the 2nd International Symposium on Tumor Targeted Delivery Systems sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the Controlled Release Society, Rockville, Md., from studies using its proprietary Magnetic Targeted Carrier (MTC) technology.

Following earlier preclinical studies suggesting that the company's MTCs are a potential tool for drug delivery to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the current study confirms the feasibility of magnetically targeted delivery of MTC-FUDR to the colon in a rat model, demonstrating the potential for treating GI diseases such as cancerous tumors of the colon, stomach and esophagus and other bowel diseases.

"We are encouraged by the potential of the intra-luminal route of administration for treatment of diseases of the GI tract demonstrated in this study," said Jacqueline Johnson, Ph.D., President and CEO of FeRx. "Exposure to an external magnetic field increases retention of MTCs and MTC-drug in the colon and clearly limits the release of the drug to a specifically targeted area. This study is an additional step in showing the potential benefits of delivery via the MTC technology -- increasing local concentrations of the drug while lowering the systemic levels of the compound."

The ability of the MTC technology to lessen the impact of an agent's systemic side effects suggests the possibility that the current study may serve as the basis for future investigations focused on delivery of known efficacious drugs for the treatment of various bowel diseases, where current therapy is limited due to the side effect profile of the medications or the ability to achieve high drug concentrations at the disease site. FeRx has previously shown the potential for delivering MTCs via intra-arterial and intra-vesical routes of administration, possibly leading to the treatment of a variety of solid tumors, including those of the liver and bladder.

Data from the study entitled, "Investigation of the Retention of Magnetically Targeted FUDR in the Rat Gastrointestinal Tract as a Potential Means of Targeting Colon Lesions" (Abstract Number 40) showed that magnetically targeted MTC-FUDR can be concentrated and confined in the targeted areas of the rat lumen, closely associated with the mucosal epithelium, within crypt lumens, Peyer's patches and the cytoplasm of crypt epithelial cells, without causing functional or histological damage to the intestinal epithelium.

A 90 percent reduction of plasma levels of FUDR was shown with magnetic targeting along with a three-fold increase in the amount of MTCs retained in the colonic loop when compared to administration of MTC-FUDR without the magnet.

FUDR (floxuridine), used in the treatment of gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma metastatic to the liver, is an analog of 5-FU (5-fluorouracil), used in the treatment of colon, stomach, pancreatic and breast cancers.

The presentation was co-authored by Beverley Greenwood-Van Meerveld, Ph.D., Kalina Venkova, Ph.D., Anthony C. Johnson, and Jennifer Merriweather of the Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research Basic Science Laboratories, VA Medical Center; Gregory Lawson, DVM, Ph.D., of the Division of Laboratory Medicine, UCLA; and, Tina Leakakos, Ph.D., of FeRx. The research was conducted under a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program of the National Institutes of Health.

The Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research (OFDR) Basic Science Laboratory is part of a private, non-profit research foundation whose mission is to advance basic science and clinical research in GI disease, treat patients with such diseases, participate in the training of physicians and to educate the public about GI illnesses. For additional information, please see the OFDR Basic Science Laboratory Web site at www.gutresearch.com.

FeRx Inc. is a privately held, product-oriented, targeted drug delivery company dedicated to the development and commercialization of its proprietary Magnetic Targeted Carrier (MTC) technology to improve patient care, reduce toxicity and increase efficacy of known drugs for the treatment of cancer. MTCs are microparticles composed of metallic iron and activated carbon that serve as delivery vehicles for the site specific targeting, retention and release of a variety of pharmaceutical agents, including small molecules, biologics and genetic vectors.

The MTC technology uses a small, externally positioned magnet to create a localized magnetic field within the body. MTCs enable pharmaceutical agents to be magnetically targeted to specific sites in the body. The physical force created by the magnetic field draws the MTC-drug compound into the targeted disease area. This process results in localization and retention of the delivered pharmaceutical agents at the desired site following removal of the magnetic field.

Current clinical studies of MTCs being conducted by FeRx are designed to demonstrate the intra-arterial delivery of magnetically targeted pharmaceuticals to specific areas of the body while reducing systemic toxicity and increasing the local concentration of drug at the target site. These trials are focused on the delivery of FeRx's lead product, MTC-DOX (doxorubicin), to primary liver tumors (hepatocellular carcinoma -- HCC) and to tumors that have metastasized to the liver.

For additional company background, please visit the FeRx Web site at: www.FeRx.com.