Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Fri, May 14, 2010
Thu, May 13, 2010 
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 13, 2010) - PharmaGap Inc. (TSX VENTURE:GAP)(OTCBB:PHRGF) ("PharmaGap" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the latest results from testing of its lead drug compound GAP-107B8 at the National Cancer Institute ("NCI") in Bethesda, MD. These results reflect a second test conducted by NCI to confirm results of the same test earlier this year.
Most striking results showed a dose dependent effect of the drug in causing cancer cell death; Prostate Cancer up to 100%; Melanoma up to 92%; and Colon Cancer up to 86%.
These tests were designed to investigate effect across the NCI's 60 cell human tumour panel at drug dosage levels from 5 to 80 micromolars. This test program was conducted twice, beginning in January this year. The results from the first test were made available to the Company in early March, and the Company was advised by the NCI that the test would be repeated in order to confirm the results. Results from the first test program have been confirmed by the second test for which results have now been received. Overall, in 37 of 60 tumour cell lines, across all cancer types tested, at dosage levels of 20 to 40 micromolars, 100% growth inhibition and greater than 20% cell death was observed. The range of results over the 60 cell lines by cancer type, expressed as growth inhibition (GI) or cell death (CD) percentages, was:
| Least Responsive | Most Responsive | |
| Prostate Cancer (2 cell lines) | 70% CD | 100% CD |
| Breast Cancer (6) | 11% CD | 58% CD |
| Melanoma (9) | 88% GI | 92% CD |
| Renal Cancer (8) | 87% GI | 79% CD |
| Ovarian Cancer (7) | 77% GI | 69% CD |
| Cancers of the Central Nervous System (6) | 77% GI | 70% CD |
| Colon Cancer (7) | 46% GI | 86% CD |
| Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (9) | 25% GI | 79% CD |
Note: an additional cancer type (6 cell lines) is not reported here in order to preserve the Company's intellectual property rights for this cancer type in future filings.
This response profile information generated at the NCI is consistent with in vitro results generated in prior testing by the company and serve to confirm these prior results.
The company will now accelerate its program to deliver required data to obtain from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigative New Drug (IND) approval to begin clinical trials. The Company has established a new full time executive position, Vice President Clinical Development, and is seeking to fill that role with a dedicated executive with depth of experience in taking drugs through clinical trials in the coming weeks. .
Robert McInnis, President and CEO of PharmaGap, stated "These very positive results allow us to adjust the timing and the strategy to the drive to human trials for this drug. We intend to apply additional resources and fill the Vice President, Clinical Development position as soon as possible in order to accelerate our program to bring this drug to human trials in as timely a manner as possible and to maximize our chances of success. As this program advances, we continue to report our progress to potential licensing and development partners. We will be providing a further report shortly on the program to move to IND."
About PharmaGap Inc.
PharmaGap Inc. (TSX VENTURE:GAP)(OTCBB:PHRGF), based in Ottawa, ON, is a biotechnology company with a core focus on developing novel peptide therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. PharmaGap's GAP-107B8 is a novel peptide drug designed to inhibit the activity of protein kinase C (PKC), a cell signalling enzyme implicated in certain types and stages of cancer. Independent peer-reviewed research has demonstrated that over-expression of PKC plays a role in the development of many cancer types. For more information please visit [ www.pharmagap.com ].
Note: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No Securities Commission or other regulatory authority having jurisdiction over PharmaGap has approved or disapproved of the information contained herein. This release contains forward looking statements that may not occur or may change materially.
