- Ixion Awarded $500,000 Phase II NIH Grant to Further Develop Treatment For Hyperoxaluric Conditions, Such as Kidney Stones
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 ALACHUA, FL, June 1, 2001 - The National Institutes of Health have awarded Ixion a $500,000 Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer Research grant for a project entitled, "Enteric Elimination and Degradation of Oxalic Acid." The new grant continues investigations that were initiated under Phase I to develop an oral therapy for control of hyperoxaluria using the beneficial bacteria, Oxalobacter formigenes, or its enzymes.
- According to Weaver H. Gaines, Chairman and CEO of Ixion, hyperoxaluria causes or aggravates a variety of diseases, such as calcium oxalate kidney stones (of which there are about one million incidents annually), Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and primary hyperoxaluria, "The lack of effective treatment modalities for oxalate-related diseases continues to be a major frustration for patient and physician alike," Gaines said.
- Marguerite Hatch, PhD, the Principal Investigator, is a world-renowned transport physiologist. She recently joined the medical faculty at the University of Florida as an Associate Professor of Pathology. She said that the researchers' aim is to develop a pill that rapidly degrades oxalate and stimulates oxalate excretion. No such therapy exists today. “This treatment appears to block absorption of oxalate from food, which is important.” said Dr. Hatch, “But equally important is the possibility that we may also simultaneously cause excretion of excess oxalate from the body through the gut. Since the most promising treatment for primary hyperoxaluria is a combined kidney-liver transplant, and the standard treatment for idiopathic oxalate stone disease is general dietary restrictions and increased fluid intake, there is obviously an insistent need for effective alternative management options.”
- The co-investigators in the project are Dr. Robert W. Freel, also an associate professor at the University of Florida, and Dr. Harmeet Sidhu, VP and Director of the Oxalate Division at Ixion. Ixion chief scientist, Dr. Ammon B. Peck, and Dr. Saeed Khan, professors at the University of Florida, and Dr. Milt Allison of Iowa State, are among the consultants for the project.
- Ixion has received seven research grants from the NIH in the last two years for a total of $1,250,000 in research funding.
- Ixion, the world's foremost company specializing in oxalate, also is engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing products to treat diabetes. Ixion is a subsidiary of Q-Med AB, whose shares are listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. For more information about Ixion's current activities, visit Ixion's web site at www.ixion-biotech.com or call 904-418-1428.
- This news release discusses historical information and includes forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, such as risks associated with pre-clinical and clinical development in the biotechnology industry, determinations by regulatory and administrative governmental authorities, competitive factors, technological developments and costs of developing, producing and selling products.
- Contacts:
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- Lisette Hilton
561-392-5649 (voice)
561-392-7496 (fax)
- Info@ixion-biotech.com
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- Weaver H. Gaines
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ixion Biotechnology, Inc.
13709 Progress Blvd.,Box 13
Alachua, FL 32615
386-418-1428 (voice)
386-418-1583 (fax)
Info@ixion-biotech.com
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