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| |  NAMS: Rimostil May Increase Bone Density While Raising Good Cholesterol NEW YORK, N.Y. -- September 27, 1999 -- The North American Menopause Society’s annual conference heard Friday (Sept. 24) about a new compound which represents a breakthrough in the search for an effective and safe therapy for women over the age of 50 to help prevent osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. A nine month study carried out in 50 post-menopausal Australian women with the compound (P-081), which is to be the active ingredient in a new product called Rimostil™, showed an increase in bone density as well as an increase in HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels without any adverse side-effects. P-081 is based on plant estrogens known as isoflavones, which has been developed by Novogen, Inc., the Australian biotech company. Rimostil is planned for release during year 2000. The study, "The Effect of an Isoflavone Dietary Supplement (P-081) on Serum Lipids, Forearm Bone Density & Endometrial Thickness in Post Menopausal Women", was presented by Dr. Rodney Baber, the clinician heading the team that carried out the study. Dr. Baber summarized the data by saying, "P-081 has had two dramatic effects on the women in our study. The first effect was on bone where it increased the density of cortical bone by an average 4% over 6 months. Not only is this rate of increase beyond the effect that we see usually with estrogen drugs, but those drugs have little or no effect on cortical bone which is the bone involved in hip fractures. So I believe that P-081 has a real chance of reducing the risk of this crippling and important problem." "The second effect was on HDL cholesterol levels. Falling HDL levels after menopause is one of the main reasons that older women suffer heart disease and stroke. P-081 caused an average 28% rise in HDL levels, essentially restoring their HDL levels to pre-menopausal levels," Dr. Baber said. "This is great news for any woman who is concerned about her current estrogen replacement therapy program," according to Lila Nachtigall, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Women’s Wellness Program at New York University. "Rimostil clearly addresses the need to safely regulate hormone levels in post-menopausal women, with emphasis on the word ‘safely’," Dr. Nachtigall said. "Isoflavones have long held promise as a potential means of maintaining bone strength and normal cholesterol levels," according to Dr. Graham Kelly, Executive Chairman of Novogen. "But up until now, clinical trials with isoflavone supplements have been disappointing. The particular breakthrough by Novogen lies in its proprietary technology which mixes together different plant isoflavones in order to deliver the desired clinical effect in exactly the right dosage." "Doctors recognize the health benefits of estrogens to the older woman," according to Dr. Baber. "But there are many down-sides to estrogen drugs, and so the challenge to doctors and patients has always been the need to weigh up the benefits with the adverse effects. P-081 would seem to be offering a totally different scenario, because it is providing potent benefits without any obvious down-side," Dr. Baber said. Novogen Inc. (Nasdaq: NVGN) is an Australian-based biotech company listed on both the Australian Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. The Company has a U.S. subsidiary, Novogen Inc, based in Stamford, Conn. Novogen is involved in drug discovery and product development for disorders that are commonly associated with aging. The Company’s patented technology is based on the discovery of a previously unrecognized class of phenolic compounds in human blood that regulate a wide range of fundamental operating mechanisms in the body.
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