DALLAS and NEW YORK, June 15 ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in products for cancer and supportive care, announced today it has initiated a broad-scale MuGard Centers-of-Excellence Sampling Program with leading oncology networks for its lead product, MuGard, a FDA-approved product for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments.
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Sampling efforts for the company include providing large oncology groups with MuGard kits containing six weeks' worth of MuGard therapy for patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. Through these oncology groups, Access Pharma initially will provide 500 patients throughout 20 top metropolitan areas full courses of therapy to protect them from oral mucositis. The Company's goal in this initiative, along with building awareness and clinical experience with MuGard, is to provide patients access to an innovative product prior to its commercial launch while oncology teams evaluate MuGard for positioning into their cancer supportive care protocol.
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"Working with leading oncology groups across the US is a critical step in successfully launching MuGard in the United States," stated Frank Jacobucci, Vice President Sales and Marketing for Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He continued, "We strongly believe incorporating MuGard into the supportive care protocol within these oncology networks will help us reach a considerable amount of patients and allow MuGard to meet their unmet need for protection from such a debilitating side effect of anticancer therapies. The MuGard Centers-of-Excellence Program will also allow us to collect additional data points on the benefits of MuGard, the economic impact of oral mucositis and the potential cost savings when using MuGard at the start and throughout the entire course of cancer therapy."
About MuGard:
MuGard is a novel, ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse and coating for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments. Up to 40% of all patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy develop moderate to severe mucositis, and almost all patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and those undergoing stem cell transplantation develop mucositis. Updated clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of mucositis recommend the use of a preventive oral care regimen as part of routine supportive care along with a therapeutic oral care regimen if mucositis develops. The market for the treatment of oral mucositis is estimated to be in excess of $1 billion world-wide.
About Access:
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes proprietary products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access' products include ProLindac(TM), currently in Phase II clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer, and MuGard(TM) for the management of patients with mucositis. The company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including Cobalamin(TM)-mediated targeted delivery and oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism and Thiarabine, a new generation nucleoside analog which has demonstrated both pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers. For additional information on Access Pharmaceuticals, please visit our website at www.accesspharma.com.
This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include those relating to: our cash burn rate, clinical trial plans and timelines and clinical results for ProLindac, MuGard, Thiarabine and Cobalamin and other product candidates, our ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and our ability to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited Access' need to obtain additional financing in order to continue the clinical trial and operations and to the risks detailed in Access' Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Access with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact: Company Contact: Investor Relations ---------------- --------------------------- Donald C. Weinberger/Diana Bittner Christine Berni (media) Director of Investor Relations Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Assoc. LLC Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (212) 370-4500 (212) 786-6208
SOURCE Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
