More than 50% of recurrent miscarriages have no apparent explanation* and the market for a drug to correct this is potentially worth up to US$750 million annually.
Following the success of pre-clinical studies performed at McMaster University in Canada, the GroPep drug is on track to be tested in Phase I trials during 2006.
A leading international infertility researcher, Professor David Clark, will present key pre-clinical data on GroPep's infertility drug, PV903, at the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology in Providence, Rhode Island, 16-18 June 2005.
Professor Clark's research found that administration of a single dose of the GroPep drug PV903 halved the miscarriage rate in a strain of female mice susceptible to the immune rejection of the foetus (a suspected major cause of recurrent miscarriage in women).
Scientists believe that women who suffer from repeated miscarriage have an immune system that attacks the embryo as "foreign" in the same way it would a virus or bacteria. The GroPep drug contains an active ingredient found in semen (called a "cytokine") that is thought to instruct the mother's immune system to "tolerate" the foetus.
Professor Clark, who was President of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology between 1996 and 1998, said: "This is the first time a cytokine has been shown to positively affect reproductive outcome in an animal model of reproductive failure that shares many pathological features with recurrent miscarriage in humans. Clinical trials in women with a history of recurrent miscarriage are warranted."
He further noted that: "Past advances in endo
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Contact: Mr Tony Mitchell
investorrelations@gropep.com.au
61-8-8354-7700
Research Australia
13-Jun-2005