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HealthLinx and InSymbiosis to co-develop therapeutic for lung disease

23 Jun 2008 - HealthLinx Limited and InSymbiosis Discovery Inc have signed a Letter of Intent to co-develop HTX's peptide therapeutic CR014 and related compounds for applications in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Acute Lung Injury. The companies will proceed under a joint venture agreement subject to the completion of due diligence.
 
ARDS is a complex syndrome affecting the vital functions of the lungs for which there are no effective therapeutic treatments available and 30-40% of patients who develop this syndrome will die. CR014 has demonstrated efficacy in reducing the adverse effects of lung injury in an animal model of ARDS. The proposed joint venture will conduct a full pre-clinical evaluation of CR014 with a view to progressing to clinical trials.
 
"The Joint Venture with InSymbiosis is a good opportunity for HTX to continue to extract value from its therapeutic assets while maintaining the company's primary focus and resource commitment to delivering new diagnostics. In particular, the upcoming release of HTX's new ovarian cancer diagnostic, OvPlex." said Greg Rice, Chairman of HealthLinx.
 
CR014 is a compound that was licensed in from the University of Virginia in 2006 and has been further developed by the HealthLinx team. The compound is a novel natural human peptide that inhibits aberrant vascular permeability and associated inflammation after acute lung injury.