XTL Biopharmaceuticals Announces the Acquisition of the Use Patent on Recombinant Erythropoietin (rHuEPO) for the Treatment of M
March 18 2009 - 9:24PM
PR Newswire (US)
REHOVOT, Israel, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:XTLB)(TASE:XTL) announced today
that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Bio-GAL
Ltd, a private company, for the rights to a use patent on
Recombinant Erythropoietin ("rHuEPO") for the prolongation of
multiple myeloma ("MM") patients' survival and improvement of their
quality of life. MM is a severe plasma cell malignancy
characterized by the accumulation and proliferation of clonal
plasma cells in the marrow, leading to the gradual replacement of
normal hematopoiesis. David Grossman, XTL's co-Chief Executive
Officer, commented, "This is a very exciting opportunity to acquire
the rights for a potential treatment for a severe and incurable
blood cancer. We at XTL are thrilled at this opportunity and expect
to embark on a clinical trial with rHuEPO for the treatment of MM
in the near term and hope to lead it to a successful outcome." In
accordance with the terms of the asset purchase agreement, XTL will
issue Bio-GAL Ltd. ordinary shares representing just under 50% of
the current issued and outstanding share capital of the Company. In
addition, XTL will make milestone payments of approximately $10
million in cash upon the successful completion a Phase 2 clinical
trial. The Company's Board of Directors may, in its sole
discretion, issue additional ordinary shares to Bio-GAL Ltd in lieu
of such milestone payment. XTL is also obligated to pay 1%
royalties on net sales of the product. The closing of the
transaction is subject to various conditions including XTL's and
Bio-GAL's shareholders' approvals, as well as completion of a
financing. Closing is expected to take place in the second or third
quarter of 2009. ABOUT ERYTHROPOIETIN (EPO) Erythropoietin (EPO) is
a glycoprotein cytokine produced mainly by the kidney and is the
major growth regulator of the erythroid lineage. EPO stimulates
erythropoiesis by binding to its receptor (EPO-R) on the surface of
erythroid progenitor cells, promoting their proliferation and
differentiation and maintaining their viability. Over the last
decade, several reports have indicated that the action of EPO is
not restricted to the erythroid compartment, but may have
additional biological, and consequently potential therapeutic
properties, broadly beyond erythropoiesis. Erythropoietin is
available as a therapeutic agent produced by recombinant DNA
technology in mammalian cell culture, rHuEPO, which is used in
clinical practice for the treatment of various anemias including
anemia of kidney disease and cancer-related anemia. ABOUT MULTIPLE
MYELOMA Currently incurable, MM is a severe plasma cell malignancy
characterized by the accumulation and proliferation of clonal
plasma cells in the marrow, leading to the gradual replacement of
normal hematopoiesis. The course of the disease is progressive, and
various complications occur, until death. This devastating disease
affects the bone marrow, bones, kidneys, heart and other vital
organs. It is characterized by pain, recurrent infections, anemia
and pathological fractures. In the course of the disease, all
patients become gradually disabled and bed-ridden. ABOUT XTL
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. ("XTL") is
engaged in the acquisition, development and commercialization of
therapeutics for the treatment of multiple myeloma and hepatitis C.
XTL will be developing rHuEPO for the treatment of multiple
myeloma. XTL is publicly traded on the NASDAQ and Tel-Aviv Stock
Exchanges (NASDAQ:XTLB)(TASE:XTL). Cautionary Statement Some of the
statements included in this press release, particularly those
anticipating future business prospects growth and operating
strategies and similar matters, may be forward-looking statements
that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For those
statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for
forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among the factors that could cause
our actual results to differ materially is our ability to maintain
our Nasdaq Stock Market listing and our ability to continue to fund
our operations; our ability to successfully close the transaction
with Bio-GAL Ltd.; our ability to successfully find successful
merger or in-licensing opportunities or other factors; and other
risk factors identified from time to time in our reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report
on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
March 27, 2008. Any forward-looking statements set forth in this
press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We
do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof.
This press release and prior releases are available at
http://www.xtlbio.com/. The information in our website is not
incorporated by reference into this press release and is included
as an inactive textual reference only. DATASOURCE: XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. CONTACT: David Grossman, Co-Chief Executive
Officer, +972-8-930-4411, or Ron Bentsur, Co-Chief Executive
Officer, +1-845-267-0707 ext. 224, both of XTL Biopharmaceuticals
Ltd. Web site: http://www.xtlbio.com/
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