Avalon to Host Conference Call on AVN944 Phase I Interim Results on December 14, 2006 at 8 a.m. EST
December 08 2006 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avalon
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq and NYSE Arca: AVRX), today announced
that it is will release interim results on the Phase I clinical
trial of AVN944 on Wednesday, December 13th, after the close of the
U.S. financial markets. The Company will also host a conference
call on Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time
to provide the update. Interested investors, analysts, members of
the media and the general public can listen to the call live over
the Internet from the investor section of the Company's website or
by dialing the numbers listed below. Conference Call Details:
Dial-In: (866) 202-4367 (U.S.) (617) 213-8845 (International)
Passcode: 78269925 Webcast: Please go to http://www.avalonrx.com/,
Investors, within 15 minutes prior to the call and select the
webcast link. The conference call replay will be available through
June 1, 2007 on Avalon's website (http://www.avalonrx.com/). About
AVN944 AVN944 is an oral small molecule drug candidate that
inhibits inosine monosphospate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme
that is critical for cells to be able to synthesize guanosine
triphosphate (GTP), a molecule required for DNA synthesis and
cellular signaling. IMPDH is over expressed in some cancer cells,
especially in the case of hematological malignancies. In laboratory
experiments, AVN944 has been shown to inhibit IMPDH activity in
cells, and suppress pools of GTP. Anticancer activities of IMPDH
inhibitors correlate with sustained depletion of GTP pools both in
cellular models and in human subjects. AVN944 appears to have a
selective effect on cancer cells in that deprivation of GTP in
normal cells results in a temporary slowing of cell growth, while
GTP deprivation in cancer cells induces cell death, or apoptosis.
Results from preclinical studies of AVN944 indicate that AVN944
inhibited the proliferation of lymphoid and myeloid cells, the
principal cells involved in the most common types of human
leukemias. In a single-dose, dose-escalation Phase I clinical trial
of AVN944 conducted in the United Kingdom in healthy volunteers,
AVN944: (1) was well tolerated at all tested doses with no notable
side effects; (2) demonstrated good pharmacokinetic properties; and
(3) had a significant inhibitory effect on IMPDH enzyme activity.
Avalon filed an IND with the FDA in August 2005 and initiated U.S.
Phase I clinical trials in January 2006 for the treatment of
hematological cancers. About Avalon Pharmaceuticals Avalon
Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company using its
proprietary technology, AvalonRx(R), to discover and develop cancer
therapeutics. Avalon has a lead product in Phase I clinical
development (AVN944 - IMPDH inhibitor), preclinical programs to
discover inhibitors for the Beta-catenin, Aurora and Survivin
pathways and drug discovery collaborations with MedImmune,
Novartis, ChemDiv and Medarex.. Avalon Pharmaceuticals was
established in 1999 and is headquartered in Germantown, Md.
DATASOURCE: Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Gary Lessing,
Executive Vice President and CFO of Avalon Pharmaceuticals,
+1-301-556-9900, FAX, +1-301-556-9910, or email, , or Media: Wendy
Lau of Noonan Russo, +1-212-845-4272 Web site:
http://www.avalonrx.com/
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