NEWS COMBINATION OF GLYCOPROTEIN IIB/IIIA PLATELET RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST AND HEPARIN COFACTOR II AGONIST RECEIVES NOTICE OF PATENT ALLOWANCE.10/02/02 -- Intimax Corporation (Cincinnati OH), a subsidiary of Celsus, Inc., received from the USPTO a notice of allowance for a patent claiming combination of glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa platelet receptor antagonist and heparin cofactor II agonist for use in the treatment of thromboembolic disorders arising from platelet- and thrombin-dependent-coagulation processes. Treatment typically addresses the inhibition of platelet aggregation and thrombin generation and activation by use of a GP IIb/IIIa antagonist in combination with various anticoagulants including heparin. A variety of animal pharmacology studies have shown Intimatan, a heparin cofactor II agonist under development at Celsus, to be a superior anticoagulant to both unfractionated and the low molecular weight heparins in cardiac surgery and in the treatment of thrombosis. In contrast to the heparins, Intimatan blocks both thrombin generation and thrombin activity via a sustained action at the vessel wall that suppresses the thrombin feedback loop, at doses that pose minimal systemic anticoagulation or bleeding. In the patented combination Intimatan has been shown to act synergistically with GPIIb/IIIa antagonists, at sub-therapeutic doses of both, to maintain vessel patency with less bleeding than GPIIb/IIIa antagonists in combination with the heparins. Intimatan also ameliorates the activation of human platelets induced by immune serum of patients with heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). These properties potentially make Intimatan the preferred anticoagulant adjuvant for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction with fibrinolytic agents and GPIIb/IIIa antagonists and/or peri- and post-surgery in the cardiac patient. Celsus, Inc. (www.celsuslaboratories.com), a closely-held enterprise founded in 1987, is engaged in the development and manufacture of bulk heparins and heparin-like carbohydrates.
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