Dublin, Ireland, 22nd January 2007
AGI Therapeutics plc appoints strong Medical Advisory Panel.
AGI Therapeutics plc ("AGI" or the "Company") (AIM, IEX: AGI), a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on gastrointestinal drug products, today announces the appointment of a Medical Advisory Panel of international experts in the field of gastroenterology.
The panel, which has already had its first meeting, advises management on a variety of subjects, providing input and insight on therapeutic areas of interest to the Company and assisting the Company in making informed decisions with regard to the future development of its clinical programmes.
The members of the Medical Advisory Panel are;
Professor Eamonn Quigley (Professor of Medicine and Human Physiology, National University of Ireland, University College Cork),
Dr. Philip Schoenfeld (Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School),
Dr. William Chey, (Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School),
Dr. William Sandborn (Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic) and,
Dr. Jan Tack (Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Commenting on the establishment of this panel, Dr. John Devane, CEO of AGI said:
"I am very pleased that we have been able to assemble a panel of international experts of this calibre. I believe the combined expertise, knowledge and insight of our Medical Advisory Panel is critical in helping guide the medical/clinical development of our product portfolio. We have already benefited from their recommendations and look forward to their continued input and advice on current and potential product candidates."
Contact Information
AGI Therapeutics
David Kelly, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +353 1 449 3254
Financial Dynamics - UK
Sarah MacLeod
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
Financial Dynamics - Ireland
Aisling Garvey
Tel: +353 1 663 3607
For further information please see www.agitherapeutics.com
About AGI
AGI is a speciality pharmaceutical company which is focused on the development and commercialisation of differentiated drug products for gastrointestinal (''GI'') diseases and disorders. AGI's common shares are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange ("AIM") and on the Irish Enterprise Exchange of the Irish Stock Market ("IEX") as "AGI".
The Company has a portfolio of product candidates derived from the Known Molecular Entity (''KME'') approach to drug re-profiling and development. KME is a re-profiling methodology used by the Company to identify existing therapeutic drugs which typically have been marketed for a number of years, have established safety profiles and can be developed for new clinical indications or with improved profiles in their existing clinical indications. In this way, the Company seeks to reduce the risk, time and cost of new product development as compared to the development of new chemical entities.
AGI is developing a range of product candidates to treat a variety of prevalent GI diseases and disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. The Company is targeting areas of the GI therapeutic drug products market for its product candidates where there are currently unmet medical needs or where the effectiveness of existing drug therapies can be further improved.
The Company has six clinical stage product candidates which are either isomers or new drug delivery formulations of existing approved drugs, and which have established safety and tolerability profiles in their currently approved clinical indications. These product candidates are all in clinical development, including five Phase II trials.
AGI intends to complete its ongoing clinical trials and, dependent on the results of these trials, the Company will initiate late stage development of a lead product candidate and will also seek to enter into licensing and development agreements with pharmaceutical companies so as to enhance the global market reach for its products and achieve optimal revenue and value opportunities for the Company.
Statements contained within this press release may contain forward-looking comments that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as 'may', 'will', 'could', 'forecasts', 'expects', 'plans', 'anticipates', 'believes', 'estimates', 'predicts', 'potential', or 'continue'. Predictions and forward-looking references in this press release are subject to the satisfactory progress of research, which is, by nature, unpredictable. Forward projections reflect management's best estimates based on information available at the time of issue.