TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Oct. 15, 2014) – Arch Biopartners Inc (“Arch” or the “Company”) (CSE:ACH)(OTCBB:FOIFF) announced today the introduction of Metablok, a new drug candidate in its development pipeline as a potential treatment for sepsis and cancer metastasis.
Sepsis and cancer metastasis represent large unmet medical needs in the world today. Sepsis alone occurs in 1 to 2% of all hospitalizations in the US. It affects at least 700,000 individuals per year.
Management believes Metablok has the potential to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of both sepsis and cancer metastasis.
Metablok was invented by Arch scientists Dr. Stephen Robbins, Dr. Donna Senger, Dr. Jennifer Rahn and their University of Calgary colleague, Dr. Paul Kubes. The inventors have assigned the Metablok intellectual property to the Company.
About Sepsis
Sepsis is a serious illness caused by the body’s immune response to an infection. White blood cells, or leukocytes, defend the body against toxins and infection. If the immune system activates too many white blood cells to fight the infection, there is a risk of widespread, life threatening inflammation termed “Sepsis”.
Sepsis is known to cause organ damage. Blood clotting during sepsis inhibits blood flow to organs and thus reduces their intake of nutrients and oxygen. In severe cases, one or more organs fail. In the worst cases, infection leads to a dangerous drop in blood pressure, called septic shock. This can quickly lead to the failure of several organs such as lungs, kidneys and liver, causing death.
Permanent organ damage can occur in patients who survive sepsis. Under current standard of care, mortality rates are over 20% for sepsis and over 50% for septic shock.
About Cancer Metastasis
Cancer is a life threatening disease because of its ability to spread from its original tumour site to other tissues and organs in the body. This process of metastasis occurs through the bloodstream or lymphatic system.
Metastasis is of great importance since most of the cancer deaths are caused by spread of the primary cancer to other sites in the body. Recent evidence shows that 60% to 70% of patients have started the metastatic process by the time of diagnosis. Additionally, patients that do not have tumor spread at diagnosis are at risk for metastatic disease. New therapeutic treatments that protect patients against metastasis would be a major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer.
About Arch Biopartners
Arch Biopartners is a portfolio based biotechnology company established to develop new products and technology for sale to pharmaceutical and industrial companies. The Company’s lead technology is MetaMx, which targets brain tumor initiating cells for the purpose of developing new imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic treatments for malignant glioma. The Company’s website address is: www.archbiopartners.com.
For more information on the Company, please consult the other public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this news release are forward looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.
The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this release.
