RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 10, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Icagen, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICGN) today announced that executive management will participate in the Epilepsy Therapy Project's Pipeline Update Conference; "Portal into CNS Opportunities," to be held March 13, 2008, at The Hotel Monaco in San Francisco. Greg Rigdon, Ph.D., Vice President, New Product Development, is scheduled to present a brief overview of Icagen's clinical product candidate, ICA-105665, as a potential treatment for epilepsy.
The Epilepsy Therapy Project (ETP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing new therapies for people living with epilepsy. The conference will bring together emerging CNS companies and scientific entrepreneurs to present their strategies, product candidates and development programs to potential venture capital, private equity, pharmaceutical and biotech investors and partners.
About Epilepsy and ICA-105665
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. Approximately 2.5 million Americans are affected by epilepsy. Seizures are caused by abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain, and can cause involuntary changes in body movement or function, sensation, awareness, or behavior.
Icagen, Inc.'s novel anti-epileptic compound ICA-105665 is a selective opener of subtypes of KCNQ potassium channels, for which genetic and physiological evidence has validated the role in abnormal neuroexcitability conditions, such as seizures, and potentially for serious pain disorders, such as neuropathic pain. In preclinical testing, ICA-105665 has demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity in seizure models, including models of treatment-resistant seizures, as well as efficacy in certain models of chronic pain.
About Icagen
Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietary know-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities, Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ion channels. The Company is conducting research and development activities, in some cases in collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies, in a number of disease areas, including epilepsy, pain and inflammation. The Company has clinical stage programs in epilepsy and asthma.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described in these forward-looking statements are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10 Q, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2008. These risk factors include risks as to the Company's history of net losses and how long the Company will be able to operate on its existing capital resources; the Company's ability to raise additional funding; the Company's ability to maintain compliance with NASDAQ's continued listing requirements; whether the Company's products will advance in the clinical trials process; the timing of such clinical trials; whether the results obtained in preliminary studies will be indicative of results obtained in clinical trials; whether the clinical trial results will warrant continued product development; whether and when, if at all, the Company's products, including senicapoc, will receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent regulatory agencies, and for which indications, and if such products receive approval, whether they will be successfully marketed; and the Company's dependence on third parties, including manufacturers, suppliers and collaborators. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.