NES-ZIONA, Israel, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PROLOR Biotech,
Inc. (NYSE MKT: PBTH) today announced that it has received a notice
of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for
a new patent application covering the company's long-acting
CTP-enhanced human growth hormone (hGH-CTP). Upon issuance,
the new patent will provide PROLOR with additional intellectual
property protection that covers methods for decreasing body fat in
humans through the use of hGH-CTP therapy.
"Treatment with human growth hormone may help decrease the
excessive body fat that can characterize growth hormone deficiency
in adults," said Shai Novik,
president of PROLOR. "We believe that this new U.S. patent
allowance further reinforces our already substantial patent
portfolio for our lead compound, hGH-CTP, as we prepare to commence
Phase III trials expected to begin later this year."
This new patent allowance is the fifth for hGH-CTP that has been
awarded by the USPTO since 2009. The patent is expected to issue in
the next few months.
Previously reported data from the company's Phase II trial of
hGH-CTP in growth hormone deficient adults showed that hGH-CTP has
the potential to reduce the required dosing frequency of human
growth hormone from the current standard of one injection per day
to a single weekly injection. In that trial, hGH-CTP
demonstrated a good safety and tolerability profile. A Phase II
trial in growth hormone deficient children is currently
ongoing.
ABOUT PROLOR
PROLOR Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company
applying unique technologies, including patented CTP technology,
primarily to develop longer-acting proprietary versions of already
approved therapeutic proteins that currently generate billions of
dollars in annual global sales. The CTP technology is
applicable to virtually all proteins. PROLOR is currently
developing a long-acting version of human growth hormone, which
successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial. It also is
developing long-acting versions of Factor VIIa and Factor IX for
hemophilia and a GLP-1/Glucagon dual receptor agonist peptide for
diabetes and obesity, all of which are in preclinical
development. For more information, visit
http://www.prolor-biotech.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: This press release
contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by
words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may,"
"anticipates," "believes," "should," "would", "intends,"
"estimates," "suggests," "has the potential to" and other words of
similar meaning, including statements regarding the results of
current clinical studies and preclinical experiments and the
effectiveness of PROLOR's long-acting protein programs, which are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are
cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may affect PROLOR's business and prospects,
including the risks that PROLOR may not succeed in generating any
revenues or developing any commercial products, including any
long-acting versions of human growth hormone, erythropoietin,
interferon beta, GLP-1 and other products; that the long-acting
products in development may fail, may not achieve the expected
results or effectiveness and/or may not generate data that would
support the approval or marketing of these products for the
indications being studied or for other indications; that ongoing
studies may not continue to show substantial or any activity; that
the actual dollar amount of any grants from Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist is
uncertain and is subject to policy changes of the Israeli
government, and that such grants may be insufficient to assist with
product development; and other risks and uncertainties that may
cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements. The results of clinical trials in
humans may produce results that differ significantly from the
results of clinical and other trials in animals. The results of
early-stage trials may differ significantly from the results of
more developed, later-stage trials. The development of any products
using the CTP platform technology could also be affected by a
number of other factors, including unexpected safety, efficacy or
manufacturing issues, additional time requirements for data
analyses and decision making, the impact of pharmaceutical industry
regulation, the impact of competitive products and pricing and the
impact of patents and other proprietary rights held by competitors
and other third parties. In addition to the risk factors
described above, investors should consider the economic,
competitive, governmental, technological and other factors
discussed in PROLOR's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in this
press release speak only as of the date the statements were made,
and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking
statements, except as required under applicable law.
PROLOR
CONTACT:
|
MEDIA
CONTACT:
|
Shai
Novik, President
|
Barbara
Lindheim
|
PROLOR
Biotech, Inc.
|
BLL
Partners,
LLC
|
Tel: +1
866 644-7811
|
+1 212
584-2276
|
Email:
shai@prolor-biotech.com
|
blindheim@bllbiopartners.com
|
SOURCE PROLOR Biotech, Inc.