FAIRFIELD, Conn., June 12, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Competitive Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:CTT) reported today that its licensee, Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:RZYM) announced an update for the first 40 patients enrolled in the 83-patient multicenter metastatic open-label colorectal trial. Eligible patients received Angiozyme(tm) in combination with the standard chemotherapy regimen of CPT-11, 5-FU and leucovorin (i.e., the Saltz regimen) in this Phase II metastatic colorectal combination therapy trial.
CTT has exclusively licensed the ribozyme technology to RZYM. Revenues generated from sales of approved RZYM products using CTT-licensed technologies will produce royalties for CTT. Ribozymes are the product of Nobel prize-winning research and are synthetically engineered to act as "molecular scissors" capable of cleaving target RNA in a highly specific manner, blocking gene expression and preventing production of unwanted proteins.
RZYM reported that preliminary analysis of the data for the first 40 patients enrolled in this combination therapy trial demonstrate that only 12.5% of patients experienced disease progression by week twelve. In the published comparator study of chemotherapy (Saltz regimen), 25% of patients had progressed by week twelve. These results, i.e., a 50% reduction in disease progression, compare favorably to chemotherapy alone.
The principal investigator for the Angiozyme colorectal combination study is Dr. Alan Venook, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Chief of Gastrointestinal Oncology at University of California San Francisco.
"Based on the encouraging early observations from this Angiozyme study, we are very hopeful that the results from this combination treatment will benefit patients with metastatic colorectal cancer," said Howard W. Robin, President and Chief Executive Officer of RZYM. "We look forward to the further evaluation of the study results at the end of this year."
The Angiozyme metastatic colorectal trial began in June 2001 and final 12-week results are expected by the end of the year.
"We are pleased to see the continued progress in favorable results from trials of the CTT-licensed Ribozyme technology for treatment of colorectal cancer," said Frank R. McPike, Jr., President and CEO of CTT. "Well over 100,000 new cases of this disease were forecast for 2001 by the American Cancer Society."
Competitive Technologies' licensee RZYM is located in Boulder, Colorado. Development and commercialization of Angiozyme is being done by RZYM in partnership with Chiron Corporation. Other RZYM development projects include Heptazyme(tm), a ribozyme directed against the Hepatitis C virus, which is in Phase II clinical development in a multi-center trial in the U.S.; Herzyme(tm), an anti-HER2 ribozyme for treatment of breast and other cancers which is in Phase I development; and HepBzyme(tm), a ribozyme for the treatment of Hepatitis B. The Herzyme program is being developed by an RZYM/Elan joint venture, Medizyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Angiozyme, Heptazyme and Herzyme are registered trademarks of Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc.
About Competitive Technologies, Inc.
Competitive Technologies is a global leader in identifying, developing and commercializing innovative life sciences, physical sciences and digital technologies. Competitive Technologies' specialized expertise and experience make it a valuable partner for inventors, companies and universities of all sizes. CTT has been responsible for closing hundreds of licensing agreements. CTT clients and licensees include: Sony, Matsushita Electric Industrial, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado, the University of Illinois, Aerielle Group International, Inc., Digital Ink, Inc., NTRU Cryptosystems, Inc., Palatin Technologies, Inc. and Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Competitive Technologies, Inc. is based in Fairfield, Connecticut and has affiliates in Osaka, Japan and London, England.
Statements about the Company's future expectations, including development and regulatory plans, and all other statements in this document other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Federal Securities Laws and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements involve risks and uncertainties related to market acceptance of and competition for the Company's licensed technologies and other risks and uncertainties inherent in CTT's business, including those set forth in Item 1 of the Company's most recent Form 10-K and other factors that may be described in CTT's filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. The Company's actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.