ADVISORY/ Satellite Feed Today At 4:30, EST; As Michael J. Fox Leaves 'Spin City,' a Novel Diagnostic for Early Detection of Parkinson's Disease Looms On the Horizon.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

ADVISORY... for Tuesday (May 23)

BOSTON--(BW HealthWire)--May 23, 2000

B-Roll Illustrates Why The Imaging Agent Altropane Could Soon Be The

First Objective Diagnostic For Parkinson's Disease in the U.S.

Michael J. Fox may be departing the TV show "Spin City," but he's expanding his more serious role as a leading advocate in the fight against Parkinson's Disease. Through his own personal and public struggle, Fox is raising new awareness that Parkinson's, which affects nearly one million Americans, can strike people in the full vigor of their youth.

An estimated 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's Disease are diagnosed each year. Clinical diagnosis is wrong about 25% of the time, however, and accurate detection is especially difficult because symptoms that suggest Parkinson's in its early stages may be mistakenly associated with a completely unrelated medical condition.

A widely available, definitive test could ensure the earliest possible diagnosis of Parkinson's, and enable patients to take advantage of treatments before the disease reaches its advanced stages. An objective test would also help reduce the number of people who are mistakenly diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

There is currently no objective diagnostic test available for Parkinson's Disease in the U.S. But hope is on the horizon, thanks to a product that has completed Phase III clinical trials. Researchers are developing an imaging agent called Altropane, a molecule that binds to the dopamine transporters in the brain, and which is used in conjunction with SPECT imaging to create an image of the patient's brain. This image allows a neurologist to make a diagnosis based on the relative numbers of dopamine transporters. In Parkinson's, the level of dopamine transporters is markedly decreased as compared to a normal individual.

Boston Life Sciences, the biotechnology company developing Altropane, reported in April that its Phase II studies demonstrated that the agent was 98% accurate in differentiating Parkinson's Disease from normal individuals. Boston Life Sciences hopes to obtain FDA marketing approval and have Altropane on the market sometime next year. Altropane is the only radiopharmaceutical currently nearing U.S. market availability for the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. The same product is also in Phase II clinical trials for the objective diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

    B-ROLL IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE AND UNRESTRICTED USE, INCLUDING:
    -- Interview with Dr. Paula Ravin, neurologist, U. Mass Memorial
Medical Center
    -- Interview with Dr. Rob Licho, nuclear medicine physician, U.
Mass Medical Center
    -- Lab footage includes imaging technology and comparative brain
scans (normal vs. PD)
    -- Interview with Parkinson's patient, Anthony Cotoia and
lifestyle footage with patient

    Satellite Feed Information:
    -- Feed Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2000
    -- Feed Time: 4:30 PM-4:45 PM Eastern
    -- Coordinates: Telstar 6C Cband
                    Transponder 7V CH7
                    Audio 6.2 & 6.8
                    Downlink Frequency: 3840 MHz