AEGiS-PRn: Kaleidos Pharma, Inc. Announces Collaboration with the NIH to Investigate The Use of TGF alpha in the Treatment of AIDS

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Kaleidos Pharma, Inc. Announces Collaboration with the NIH to Investigate The Use of TGF alpha in the Treatment of AIDS

PRNewswire - November 13, 2002

SEATTLE, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleidos Pharma, Inc., today announced a collaboration with the Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Under the terms of the agreement, NIH researchers will conduct a non-human primate study to evaluate the potential of Kaleidos Pharma's proprietary compound, Transforming Growth Factor alpha (TGF alpha) to increase CD4 T-cell counts in rhesus monkeys infected with Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), the ape or monkey equivalent of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This collaboration follows promising findings showing elevation of CD4 T-cell counts in response to TGF alpha in a rhesus monkey study conducted at the University of Washington.

"This exciting study follows favorable observations from the administration of TGF alpha to a sick, but non-SIV-infected rhesus monkey which showed an 88% increase in CD4 T-cell counts and increases in CD8 T-cells as well as CD4/CD8 T-cell precursor cells in response to the treatment," commented Dr. Daniel Twardzik, Vice President, Research Kaleidos Pharma. "The observed increase in the T-cell precursor population is significant. New CD4 cells arising from TGF alpha-induced CD4/CD8 precursor cells will replace T-cells lost to HIV infection, which may enhance the body's ability to fight the HIV infection and the resulting opportunistic infections."

AIDS results from the destruction of CD4 T-cells. CD4 T-cells are central to providing the body with a defense against infection. They protect against viral infection and aid other cells in fighting AIDS opportunistic infections such as fungal infections, herpesvirus infections, pneumonia, and Kaposi's sarcoma, an AIDS-related cancer.

"This collaboration with the NIH will allow us to further investigate the potential therapeutic applications of TGF-alpha in high-prevalence diseases," commented Dr. John M. Reno, President of Kaleidos Pharma. "Preliminary evidence provides promise that treatment with TGF alpha may be a novel strategy for boosting T-cell numbers and restoring immune capacity in individuals with AIDS and other diseases characterized by a compromised immune system."

Dr. Reno continued, "We are now collaborating with the NIH in two different diseases. Combining NIH expertise and Kaleidos Pharma's technology maximizes the opportunity to develop exciting new therapeutics for both Parkinson's disease and AIDS."

Kaleidos Pharma, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company developing protein-based drug therapies for central nervous system disorders, including Parkinson's disease, and for certain AIDS and cancer indications. The Company's lead drug, TGF-alpha, is a well-studied molecule originally discovered at the National Cancer Institute. KPI has developed a number of academic and corporate collaborations to advance its drug development. In addition to the AIDS study in primates, TGF-alpha is the subject of two studies in primate models of Parkinson's disease. One study is sponsored jointly by Centocor, a Johnson & Johnson company and the Johnson and Johnson Corporate Office of Science and Technology. A second Parkinson's study is being conducted by the Surgical Neurology Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (SNB/NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Contact:

Robert M. Littauer, CEO - Kaleidos Pharma, Inc.

rml@kaleidospharma.com - 206-332-0712

Ian McConnell, Ph.D - Noonan Russo Presence

i.mcconnell@nrp-euro.com - 415-677-4455

SOURCE Kaleidos Pharma, Inc.

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PR021118

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