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| |  New Treatment Discovered to Prevent Diabetic Eye Disease SAN FRANCISCO, June 11, 1996-- Scientists at Exocell, a Philadelphia biotechnology company, and the National Eye Institute have discovered a novel treatment that prevents diabetic eye disease. Collaborative experiments have shown that Exocell's A717 compound prevents development of pathology in the capillaries of the retina. Rex S. Clements, MD and Margo P. Cohen, MD of Exocell, and Gerald W. Robison, PhD of the National Eye Institute, presented the findings today at the national meeting of the American Diabetes Association. The new therapy, tested in diabetic mice, entailed treatment with A717, a monoclonal antibody that blocks biologically active sites in glycated albumin. Exocell's earlier studies had shown that glycated albumin, which is elevated in people with diabetes, is an important contributor to diabetic kidney damage, and that A717 prevented this damage. Drs. Clements and Cohen postulated that accelerated albumin glycation, which is driven by high glucose levels, is also an important link between a high blood sugar and the development of diabetic retinopathy. The results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, first released in 1993, established that high blood sugar increases the risk for development of diabetic complications. The current study showed that weekly injections of A717 prevented the abnormal accumulation of basement membrane material in the walls of the small blood vessels of the retina, which is an early feature of diabetic retinopathy. The beneficial effects of A717 were independent of blood glucose concentration, which remained elevated in the diabetic animals. Diabetic retinopathy is responsible for more than 25,000 cases of blindness in the U.S. every year. Currently there is no effective drug therapy to prevent diabetic retinopathy. According to Dr. Clements, Exocell anticipates bringing A717, which has been genetically engineered to a humanized form, to clinical trials in diabetic patients. Exocell is developing products for the management and treatment of diabetes and its complications. A717 is one of a series of proprietary agents and technologies developed by the Company for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Exocell has gained FDA approval for several diagnostics including Glycaben(R), a test to measure and monitor glycated albumin levels in diabetic patients. The Company is headquartered in Philadelphia.
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