WINNIPEG, Manitoba
- (April 3, 2003) - Medicure Inc.
(TSE:MPH), a cardiovascular drug discovery and development company,
is pleased to announce that it has received Notices of Allowance
from the United States Patent Office for U.S Patents covering several
of Medicure's novel compounds
for use in treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. These new
allowances bring Medicure's
total intellectual property holdings to seven patents.
The first allowance
relates to a series of small molecule therapeutic candidates from
Medicure's antithrombotics
discovery program, which form a part of Medicure's
product pipeline. The allowance covers various therapeutic applications
including the prevention of blood platelets from aggregating and
subsequently blocking blood flow, which can lead to heart attacks.
Antithrombotics are a major part of drug discovery activity due
to the large market size and the recognized need for new products
within this market. Medicure's
antithrombotic program utilizes a unique scaffold to design a new
class of improved therapeutics.
The second Notice of Allowance is for the treatment of cerebrovascular disease using
various compounds discovered by the Company. Conditions claimed
include cerebral ischemia, cerebral hemorrhage, ischemic stroke
or hemorrhagic stroke. These unique chemical entities have demonstrated
potential for reducing damage associated with ischemic stroke in
pre-clinical studies. Stroke is a major cause of death and disability
throughout the world with more than 750,000 new cases per year in
the USA. To date, the only FDA approved stroke therapeutic is Tissue
Palsminogen Activator (tPA), a treatment that aids in dissolving
the arterial obstruction. However, tPA is typically available to
less than 10% of stroke patients due to the increased risk of hemorrhage
and the narrow therapeutic time frame during which the drug can
be administered.
"The receipt
of these Notices further emphasize the significance and strong intellectual
property position of our entire drug discovery program," stated
Albert D. Friesen, PhD, Medicure Chairman,
President and CEO. "We are very pleased with the additional
scope of protection that these Notices of Allowance will provide
us in the overall application of all our drug compounds."
One approach
of Medicure's structure-based
drug design and development team is to explore cardiovascular and
cerebrovascular therapeutics based on the unique scaffold of the
Company's lead drug MC-1. As
a biologically active natural product, MC-1
can be regarded as a chemical entity that has been evolutionarily
selected and validated for binding to particular protein domains.
About Medicure Inc.
Medicure Inc. is a cardiovascular
drug discovery and development Company focused on developing effective
therapeutics for unmet needs in the field of cardiovascular medicine
including the prevention and treatment of ischemia, ischemic reperfusion
injury, and stroke.
This press release
contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, which may
cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made,
and accordingly may be deemed to be forward-looking statements made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are
made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention
and has no obligation or responsibility to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Derek Reimer
Chief Financial Officer
Don Bain
Director of Investor & Public Relations
Medicure Inc.
888-435-2220
204-488-9823
fax
info@medicure.com
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