VILLA GUARDIA (COMO), Italy, Nov. 29, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gentium S.p.A. (Nasdaq:GENT) (the "Company") today announced that an oral presentation on Defibrotide will be presented at the 53nd Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology to be held at the San Diego Convention Center in California, December 10-13, 2011.
Oral session: Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation - Conditioning Regimens, Engraftment and Acute Transplant Toxicities: Acute Transplant Toxicities, Douglas Pavilion B in the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, Monday, December 12, 2011, 10:30 AM
"Defibrotide (DF) in the Treatment of Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease (VOD) in Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) and Non-SCT Patients: Early Intervention Improves Outcome - Updated Results of a Treatment IND Expanded Access Protocol" (Abstract #487), P. Richardson et. al., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
For more details on the congress, please visit the official congress web site:
http://www.hematology.org/Meetings/Annual-Meeting/
About Gentium
Gentium S.p.A., located in Como, Italy, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and manufacture of drugs to treat and prevent a variety of diseases and conditions, including vascular diseases related to cancer and cancer treatments. Defibrotide, the Company's lead product candidate, is an investigational drug that has been granted Orphan Drug status by the U.S. FDA and Orphan Medicinal Product Designation by the European Commission both to treat and to prevent VOD, and Fast Track Designation by the U.S. FDA to treat VOD.
About VOD
Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is a potentially life-threatening condition, which typically occurs as a result of a significant complication of stem cell transplantation. Certain high-dose conditioning regimens used as part of stem cell transplants (SCT) can damage the lining cells of hepatic blood vessels and result in VOD, a blockage of the small veins of the liver that leads to liver failure and can result in significant dysfunction of other organs such as the kidneys and lungs (so-called severe VOD). SCT is a frequently used treatment modality following high-dose chemotherapy and radiation therapy for hematologic cancers and other conditions in both adults and children. There is currently no approved agent for the treatment or prevention of VOD in the United States or the European Union.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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