CRANBURY, N.J., Dec. 1 Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PTN) today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,622,440, titled "Cyclic Natriuretic Peptide Constructs." The claims in the issued patent cover a family of cyclic compounds that bind to natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPRA), including PL-3994, Palatin's lead heart failure drug candidate.
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"Our natriuretic compounds, including PL-3994, address significant unmet medical needs," said Trevor Hallam, Ph.D., Palatin's Executive Vice President - Research and Development. "These are the only reported compounds that bind to NPRA and have extended half-lives and pharmacokinetic properties making daily subcutaneous administration possible. Besides the potential to decrease re-hospitalization rates in patients with heart failure, PL-3994 may also have application in treating resistant hypertension and pulmonary arterial hypertension."
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PL-3994 and the related family of cyclic compounds were discovered and developed by Palatin scientists and are solely owned by Palatin. In addition to this issued U.S. patent, Palatin has applications pending in selected countries outside the United States and additional U.S. applications covering related compounds.
About PL-3994
Palatin has completed two clinical trials with PL-3994, a Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers and a Phase 2a trial in patients with controlled hypertension. PL-3994 produced dose-related decreases in blood pressure, increases in plasma cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate), a natural messenger nucleotide, and increases in urine volume and sodium excretion. There were no serious or severe adverse events.
PL-3994 incorporates a novel and proprietary amino acid mimetic developed by scientists at Palatin. PL-3994 has an extended half-life, with reduced affinity for natriuretic peptide clearance receptors and increased resistance to neutral endopeptidase, an endogenous enzyme that degrades natriuretic peptides. The result is a drug candidate with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties.
About Heart Failure
Heart failure affects over 5.7 million people in the United States, with 670,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Despite the treatment of heart failure with multiple drugs, the prognosis remains poor. There were over 1.1 million hospitalizations for heart failure in 2006 in the United States, with estimated direct and indirect costs of heart failure in the United States for 2009 of $37.2 billion.
About Palatin Technologies, Inc.
Palatin Technologies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing targeted, receptor-specific small molecule and peptide therapeutics. Palatin's strategy is to develop products and then form marketing collaborations with industry leaders in order to maximize their commercial potential. For additional information regarding Palatin, please visit Palatin Technologies' website at www.palatin.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements about future expectations of Palatin Technologies, Inc., including statements about its development programs, proposed indications for its product candidates, pre-clinical activities, marketing collaborations, and all other statements in this document other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Palatin intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Palatin's actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to Palatin's ability to fund development of its technology, ability to establish and successfully complete clinical trials and pre-clinical studies and the results of those trials and studies, dependence on its partners for certain development activities, need for regulatory approvals and commercial acceptance of its products, ability to protect its intellectual property, and other factors discussed in the Palatin's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Palatin is not responsible for updating for events that occur after the date of this press release.
SOURCE Palatin Technologies, Inc.
