DMA Diamedica Therapeutics

DiaMedica Inc. (TSX VENTURE:DMA) is pleased to announce the successful
humanization of its monoclonal antibody (mAb), DM-204, for Type 2 diabetes and
diabetic related complications of hypertension (high blood pressure) and
cholesterol. 


The humanized DM-204 mAb demonstrated improved binding affinity of up to two
orders of magnitude compared to the recently announced first-generation parental
murine (mouse) antibody. The increased binding affinity demonstrated by DM-204
has resulted in a significant improvement in glucose utilization over the
first-generation antibody as measured by an in vivo Type 2 diabetes oral glucose
tolerance test (OGTT). On December 1, 2011, DiaMedica announced results of
chronic in vivo treatment with the first-generation DM-204 antibody in a Type 2
diabetes model, which resulted in statistically significant improvements
compared to control in the average amount of sugar in blood as measured by HbA1c
(2.6%, p=0.0103), fasting blood glucose (70%, p=0.0058), blood pressure (25
mm/Hg, p=0.0004) and cholesterol (greater than 20%, p=0.0156).


The humanization of a mouse antibody is intended to make the mAb more compatible
for therapeutic use in man. A mouse antibody delivered in man, may trigger an
immune response rendering it immunogenic, however, a humanized version of the
same antibody is less immunogenic and therefore therapeutically more effective.
The humanization process entails replacing mouse DNA sequence with human DNA
sequence making the antibody less immunogenic while ideally not compromising
antibody-binding affinity. The humanization of an antibody is the critical step
in the development of therapeutic mAbs.  


"The fact that our next-generation, humanized mAb, has been able to demonstrate
improved binding affinity and significantly improved efficacy, over the already
highly effective parental mouse antibody, exceeded our expectations. Furthermore
these results indicate that our humanized mAbs may perform even better in man,"
stated Rick Pauls, President and CEO at DiaMedica. "We have been very encouraged
with the recently announced study results and external interest in our diabetes
programs."


About DiaMedica 

DiaMedica is a biopharmaceutical company that has developed novel therapeutic
compounds aimed to improve the lives of patients with diabetes and other major,
medical-unmet diseases. DiaMedica's lead compound, DM-199, represents a novel
approach to treating Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes by demonstrating significant
results against three major aspects of these diseases: 1) halting the autoimmune
attack on beta cells; 2) proliferating insulin producing beta cells; and 3)
improving glucose control. 


Treatment with DiaMedica's monoclonal antibody, DM-204, has demonstrated
significant improvement in glucose control, blood pressure and cholesterol
levels in in vivo models of Type 2 diabetes. 


The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol 'DMA'. 

About Humanized Antibodies 

Monoclonal antibody humanization is important for drugs that are to be
administered multiple times to individual patients. Research antibodies are
typically made in mice and are called murine antibodies. Murine antibodies are
not ideal for human clinical use because the patient can potentially recognize
the murine antibody as foreign and may generate a Human Anti- Mouse Antibody
(HAMA) immune response in an attempt to destroy the murine antibody. Monoclonal
antibody humanization is a technique where specific regions of the mouse
antibody not involved in target binding are replaced with human antibody
building blocks, resulting in a final drug candidate that is approximately 93%
human. The result is an antibody that has the targeting characteristics of the
original mouse antibody but does not have enough of a mouse structure to be
recognized by the human body as foreign. Therefore, humanized antibodies reduce
or eliminate the HAMA response during treatment, making multiple treatments
possible.


Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information 

The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts contain
forward-looking information that involves risk and uncertainties. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address DiaMedica's
expectations, should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements
are based on management's exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions
made by and information currently available to management. When used in this
document, the words "may", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate",
"expect", "intend" and words of similar import, are intended to identify any
forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. These statements reflect a current view of future
events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as contained in the
Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation, and does not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release
any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any
unanticipated events. Although management believes that expectations are based
on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these expectations
will materialize.

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