AlphaMed Announces Receipt of a $500,000 Phase II STTR Grant for Developing Targeted Radiotherapy for Metastatic Melanoma.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003

AlphaMed Inc. announced today that it has received a $500,000 two-year STTR Phase II grant award from the National Cancer Institute to further develop a targeted radiotherapy for metastatic melanoma.

AlphaMed is collaborating with the University of Missouri in Columbia in this work. The therapy is based on a molecule, labeled with the therapeutic radionuclide lead-212, that is selective to metastatic melanoma cells. Lead-212 decays to bismuth-212, which in turn emits an alpha particle that destroys tumor cells on contact. While melanoma is understood to be relatively radioresistant, alpha particles, with their high-energy deposition, may be effective in metastatic melanoma, which has no effective therapy.

Professor Tom Quinn of the University is the principal investigator. Dr. Quinn states, "The work conducted in Phase I of this project was very promising in demonstrating selective targeting of melanoma in animals. The commercial availability of the lead-212 generator system is enabling the investigation of therapy studies in Phase II of this project." Consultants to the project include Drs. Alan Fritzberg and Mark Hylarides, formerly of NeoRx Corporation, and Dr. Darrell Fisher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

In addition to managing the project, AlphaMed is supplying the lead-212/bismuth-212 generators. AlphaMed won a competitive grant from the DOE to privatize the production and distribution of these isotope generators from its facilities at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington.

Company president, Richard Testa, and vice president of isotope development, Herbert Moore, said, "We wish to thank our colleagues at NeoRx for their part in the making this possible and to acknowledge the support that we've received from Professor Tom Quinn and Dr. Alan Fritzberg, who directed Phase I of the project. We are pleased to participate in this research and to make Bi-212 generators commercially available and look forward to their use in additional cancer therapies."

In addition to Pb-212/Bi-212 generators, AlphaMed intends to provide other isotopes that support cancer therapy. It is offering for delivery in late 2003: indium-111 and copper-67, and in early 2004: actinium-225 and high-specific activity lutetium-177. AlphaMed has an exclusive patent license from MIT, grants from the Department of Energy and the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention that enables it to produce radioisotopes that are currently available in only limited quantities.

For further information, contact Mr. Richard Testa, President, AlphaMed Inc., at [e-mail] or at 978-929-9190 and visit the website at www.alphamed.biz.