BUENA, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2004--IGI, INC. (AMEX:IG - News) today reported that they have signed a Sublicense Agreement with Tarpan Therapeutics, Inc. for the clinical uses of PTH 1-34 relating to the regulation of cell differentiation and proliferation for treatment of skin disorders using IGI's NovasomeŽ Delivery Technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tarpan will assume all costs for clinical trials and pay IGI an upfront payment, milestone and royalty payments.
Researchers, led by Dr. Michael Holick, PhD, MD, a professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics at Boston University Medical Center, conducted a randomized, self-controlled double-blinded trial of 15 adult patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. Each patient applied to one lesion NovasomeŽ A cream and a comparable lesion with NovasomeŽ A cream that contained PTH (1-34). The psoriatic lesions treated with PTH (1-34) showed marked improvement in scaling, erythema and in duration. There was a 67.3% improvement in the global severity score for the lesion treated with NovasomeŽ A cream containing PTH (1-34) compared to the placebo-treated lesion, which only showed a 17.8% improvement.
Dr. Holick is the Company's Chief Scientific Officer and head of IGI's Scientific Advisory Board.
Michael Weiser, M.D., Ph.D, the President of Tarpan Therapeutics said, "We look forward to working with IGI and Dr. Holick for the development of PTH (1-34) using IGI's Novasome technology. We believe that PTH(1-34) may be effective for treating Psoriasis and several other indications including Hirsutism."
"This agreement solidifies our Company's entrance into dermatology," stated Frank Gerardi, IGI's Chairman and CEO.
IGI is a company committed to grow by applying its technologies to deliver cost-effective solutions to customer's problems. IGI solves problems in consumer and skin care markets. An increasing number of IGI's solutions are based on the patented NovasomeŽ microencapsulation technology which offers value-added qualities to cosmetics, skin care products, dermatological products, chemicals, foods, beverages and other products.
The statements in this release by Frank Gerardi are forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including the following: changes in demand for the Company's products, product mix, the timing of customer orders or deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, constraints on supplies of critical components, excess or shortage of production capacity and other risks discussed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings. In addition, such statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic and international economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the release.