Angiotech Initiates Second Clinical Study Within One Month for Psoriasis.

VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998--Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (TSE:ANP) has initiated a phase I/II clinical study to assess the safety and pharmacological activity of topical paclitaxel gel in patients with mild to moderate psoriasis.

The 20-patient study is being conducted at the Skin Care Centre at the University of British Columbia under the clinical guidance of Vincent Ho, MD.

Psoriasis is a common, chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by red, scaly plaques, affecting up to 3 percent of the U.S. population. At present, there is no cure for psoriasis. Poor remission rates and/or potentially serious side effects characterize current treatments. The overall cost of treating psoriasis in the U.S. is estimated at between $3 to $5 billion per year, making the disease a major health care problem.

Angiotech has demonstrated that paclitaxel, the world's best selling anticancer drug, inhibits several key pathological processes involved in psoriasis. In particular, paclitaxel inhibits abnormal skin cell growth while being non-toxic to healthy cells. Paclitaxel is also a potent inhibitor of inflammatory cell response and angiogenesis, processes involved in the progression of psoriasis.

"This is the second study we have initiated for psoriasis in the past month, however this one is considered a phase I/II, as it will give us a better understanding of the drug's effectiveness," said Donald E. Longenecker, PhD, President and COO of Angiotech.

Patients enrolled in this study will be randomized to receive two different strengths of the topical paclitaxel gel in early January. Each strength will be applied daily to a different treatment area containing a psoriatic plaque. If both psoriatic plaques have not shown at least 25 percent improvement after 4 weeks of treatment, patients will increase the application of the gel to twice daily for the remaining 4 weeks of the study (8 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks of follow-up to complete the study).

Earlier this month, Angiotech initiated a 20-patient, phase I clinical study to determine the safety and topical absorption profile of topical paclitaxel gel in patients diagnosed with mild to moderate psoriasis at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a Canadian pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of novel treatments for chronic inflammatory and angiogenesis-dependent diseases such as restenosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. The Company's initial technologies are based on the reformulation of the anticancer drug, paclitaxel, into medical device coatings, systemic treatments and topical gels. Angiotech intends to continue to enter strategic alliances with pharmaceutical and device companies for development and commercialization of its pharmaceutical and interventional products.