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| |  International Symposium on Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia HOUSTON, Dec. 6, 1996 -- Texas Biotechnology Corporation (TBC) (AMEX: TXB) today announced that leading international coagulation researchers reported new findings on the clinical consequences of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), as well as on advances in the development of new thrombin inhibitors at a satellite symposium entitled "Thrombin Inhibitors as Substitute Anticoagulants in Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia" held in conjunction with the 38th Annual Society of Hematology in Orlando, Florida. The symposium is sponsored by Loyola University Medical Center's Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Laboratories, Department of Pathology, with an educational research grant from Texas Biotechnology. NOVASTAN (argatroban) is currently in late stage development by TBC for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis in HIT patients. HIT is an immune reaction to the anticoagulant, heparin. New clinical data reported in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine, November 1996, by Theodore E. Warkentin, M.D. and John G. Kelton, M.D. of McMaster University, Ontario, demonstrates that more than fifty- percent of patients diagnosed with isolated (i.e. no clot present) HIT will experience clotting within four weeks following heparin administration. These findings are in contrast with the standard clinical approach to HIT, simple discontinuation of heparin therapy, which Warkentin and Kelton's research suggests may not be adequate. The paradoxical clotting associated with HIT may be related to the generation of microparticles from activated platelets. These microparticles subsequently promote the generation of thrombin, a key component of the coagulation system. "Argatroban is the only synthetic, direct thrombin inhibitor in approved clinical use [in Japan - Ed.]. In our experience at Loyola, argatroban is the only available drug useful as a substitute for heparin," stated Jawed Fareed, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Pharmacology, Loyola University Medical Center, and Director of Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Laboratory. "After seeing the results with patients who have been treated with argatroban, I am impressed with its performance in contrast to other drugs, including hirudin which has a higher molecular weight, more potential to develop antibodies and a reportedly lower safety profile." The symposium focuses on heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, an immune reaction to heparin, which is the most widely used injectable anticoagulant worldwide. The frequency of HIT ranges from five to ten percent in patients receiving high doses of heparin (usually intravenously) and two to five percent in those receiving lower dosages (usually subcutaneously). Approximately three million people in the United States receive therapeutic heparin either subcutaneously or intravenously each year. Therefore, several hundred thousand patients are at risk for this adverse drug effect each year. "We need to continue to educate care-givers as to the catastrophic consequences of a serious heparin-mediated immune response. By recognizing this risk, we can improve detection and thereby improve patient outcomes. Approximately forty-percent of patients experiencing HIT will develop severe complications including stroke, heart attack, amputation and death," said Bruce E. Lewis, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, and Chief of Cardiology, Columbus Hospital. "The new family of thrombin inhibitors represents a major advance, and argatroban, in particular, has substantial potential in this group of patients. It's an advance in the prevention and management of heparin-induced adverse outcomes." Texas Biotechnology Corporation is developing a new generation of therapeutics focused on preserving the functional integrity of the vascular system. TBC expertise in computer-aided small molecule drug design has generated important lead compounds toward inhibiting thrombin, cell adhesion, endothelin, growth factors and programmed cell death. This press release contains forward-looking information that is subject to certain risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those risks, trends, and uncertainties are attainment of research and clinical goals of product candidates. In particular, careful consideration should be given to cautionary statements made in the various reports Texas Biotechnology has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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