Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. Announces Further Developments Regarding the Anti-Cancer Activity of Its Patent-Pending Proprietary Compounds
EAST SETAUKET, N.Y., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: LIXT:OB) and its collaborator, the Surgical Neurology Branch (SNB), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), reported at the 1st International Conference on Drug Discovery and Development, Dubai, UAE, February 6, 2008, that its lead compound LB-1, one of a patent-pending proprietary series of agents, has anti-cancer activity against medulloblastoma cells growing in culture and in a mouse model of cancer. Medulloblastoma is the most common brain tumor of children and is often fatal.
Dr. John S. Kovach, the lead presenter and President and CEO of Lixte, said that the company and SNB, NINDS are continuing to develop LB-1 and other compounds for the treatment of human brain cancers. Brain cancers pose a particular challenge to the development of effective drug treatments. The brain is protected by a physiological barrier which prevents the entry of most potentially effective therapeutic agents. To be effective, drugs must be designed either to pass this barrier or to be administered directly into the brain. "Lixte is pursuing both strategies to deliver its lead compounds to brain cancers," said Dr. Kovach.
In other studies done by Lixte independently of NIH, Dr. Kovach commented, "That LB-1 and other lead compounds have also been found to have anti-cancer activity against a broad range of common human cancers growing in cell culture. The effectiveness of these compounds will now be determined in mouse models of human cancer, starting with lung and pancreatic cancer."
In addition, Dr. Kovach said that, "Some of Lixte's compounds have been shown to have anti-fungal activity. We have found that LB-2.1 and other drugs in a second series of patent-pending proprietary compounds inhibit the growth of several types of fungi that cause life-threatening infections in immuno- compromised patients, such as those with HIV-AIDS or undergoing bone marrow transplantation. Given this lead, Lixte is initiating studies to assess the potential value of these compounds for treatment of serious fungal diseases."
About Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.:
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (Lixte) is a cancer therapeutics and diagnostics company. Founded as a biomarker-diagnostics company in 2005, Lixte develops new chemotherapy drugs targeting molecular abnormalities of common human cancers. Over the past year, based on the discovery of a new biomarker for brain cancers by collaborators at NIH, the company is working with NINDS, NIH to develop more effective treatments for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain cancer in adults and other brain cancers of adults and children.
GBM occurs annually in 20,000 to 25,000 adults in the United States and in a comparable number of individuals in Europe. At present, there is no curative treatment known for this disease. Standard treatment involves surgery, radiation and the use of one or more chemotherapeutic agents at the time of initial treatment. At relapse, which occurs in essentially all patients, the present standard treatment is a drug, Temozolomide, which is associated with a modest increase in life span measured in weeks. Thus, there is an urgent need for more effective treatments for GBM.
About the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), (NIH):
NINDS (www.ninds.nih.gov) is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is the nation's primary supporter of biomedical research on the brain and nervous system.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations, and assumptions and predictions about future product demand, supply, manufacturing, costs, marketing and pricing factors are all forward-looking statements. These statements are generally accompanied by words such as "intend," anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "potential(ly)," "continue," "forecast," "predict," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect" or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, based on information available to it on the date hereof, but the Company cannot provide assurances that these assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct or that the Company will take any action that the Company may presently be planning. However, these forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or experience may differ materially from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, regulatory policies, available cash, research results, competition from other similar businesses, and market and general economic factors. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter ending September 30, 2007.
For additional information Please see our Website: www.Lixte.com
SOURCE Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.
Released February 26, 2008