| Home - Yahoo! - Help |
[ Business | US Market | By Industry | IPO | AP | S&P | International | PRNews | BizWire | CCN ]
MONTGOMERY, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2000-- Dr. Christopher Heeschen of Stanford University was honored this week by the American College of Cardiology for his research on the effect of nicotine on angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth). His work took third place in the 2,000 entry Young Investigators Competition in the category of Physiology, Pharmacology and Pathology.
Dr. Heeschen presented compelling data from research done at Stanford revealing that the simple plant protein, nicotine, applied in small harmless doses, produced new blood vessel growth around blocked arteries to oxygen-starved tissue.
The research, involving animal studies, showed that the nicotine agent created more new blood vessels in blocked arteries than any other known growth factor. The new agent could be used to treat failing hearts and limbs with poor circulation. It holds the potential for non-surgical heart by-pass procedures.
Dr. Heeschen commented, ``It is important to note that this is a natural protein and is not gene therapy. Our research demonstrated conclusively that medicinal nicotine given at low doses is a very potent angiogenic.''
Dr. John P. Cooke, director of the Vascular Medicine Research Laboratory at Stanford, stated, ``We went into our research suspecting strongly that nicotine might play a negative role, that it would prevent growth of new blood vessels. In doing our experiments, we were surprised to find that nicotine, which is usually considered harmful, did the opposite. It actually had a potent therapeutic effect on the enhancement and growth of new blood vessels in cases of ischemic (oxygen-starved) vessels. The paradoxical results caused a paradigm shift in our thinking.''
The medicinal application of nicotine does not involve smoking.
Endovasc Ltd., Inc. (OTC: ENDV - news), recently acquired the worldwide exclusive license on the patent for the newly discovered growth agent. Dr. David P. Summers, chairman and CEO of Endovasc said, `` We are very gratified that the American College of Cardiology has honored the work on angiogenesis at Stanford. We know that the receptor that controls angiogenesis is specific to the nicotine molecule. There are enormous implications for this discovery in the treatment of heart disease. We hope that medicinal nicotine may provide a multitude of therapeutic options to the clinician's armory.''
About the Company: Endovasc Ltd., Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company using liposomal drug delivery for products for the limbs and heart that have already shown safety and efficacy in the generic form. The company's products and processes are covered by patents and trade secrets for competing in a $2 billion market.
The foregoing statements are made under the ``Safe Harbor'' Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that may not be evident at the time of this release.
The Dilenschneider Group, Inc., New York
Matthew Swetonic or Leo Murray, 212/922-0900
or
Endovasc Ltd., Inc., Montgomery, Texas
Barbara Richardson, 936/448-2222
E-mail: bjr@endovasc.com
Or visit our web site: www.endovasc.com
| More Quotes and News: | ENDV - news |
| Related News Categories: biotech, education, health care, medical/pharmaceutical | |