Applied Genetics Dermatics' Clinical Findings of 'Morning After' Skin Cancer Prevention Drug to be Presented At May 3 Photobiology Meeting At the German Academy of Dermatology.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

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FREEPORT, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--April 27, 2001

AGI Drug Prevents Skin Cancer by Delivering Purified DNA Repair Enzyme

in Liposomes to Skin; Dubbed the 'Biggest Advance Since Sunscreens'

Daniel B. Yarosh, Ph.D., President of AGI Dermatics Inc, a private biopharmaceutical company focusing on the dermatology and lifestyle enhancement market, will present the results of a clinical study showing prevention of skin cancer by a new biotechnology drug in Berlin, at the International Convention Center, May 3, 2001. The presentation will come at the Photobiology session of the German Academy of Dermatology annual meeting. The drug, T4N5 liposome lotion (tradename Dimericine(tm)) is applied topically to the skin, once a day, and uses liposomes to deliver DNA repair enzymes into the skin that reverse the DNA damage caused by sunlight.

David Leffell, MD, a Yale University Dermatologist, calls this "the biggest advance since sunscreens. This topical lotion is a new approach to preventing skin cancer in all people damaged by sunlight."

Dr. Yarosh will tell participants, "Germany is the largest consumer of sun care products in Europe. Despite this, Germans remain at serious risk for skin cancer. For example, the incidence of melanomas in this country has doubled every 12 to 15 years in the last several decades."

The clinical study that will be described by Dr. Yarosh was conducted in patients with the genetic disease xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), also referred to as Children of the Night, who lack DNA, repair and easily develop skin cancer. Four of the participants, who applied the drug daily for a year, were German XP patients. The drug reduced the rate of skin cancer in XP patients by 30% and reduced the pre-cancerous form by 68%, over and above the protection from the patients' use of sunscreens.

Explains Dr. Yarosh, "XP is a disease that accelerates the effects of the sun. We see skin cancers in 8-year-old XP patients that take decades in otherwise healthy people. T4N5 liposome lotion supplements the missing enzyme in this disease and reduces the rate at which cancers develop."

About AGI Dermatics

Applied Genetics, Inc. Dermatics is a private biopharmaceutical company focusing on the dermatology and lifestyle enhancement market. The company invents and acquires new molecular biology technology and applies it to products for personal care, dermatology, and cancer diagnosis and prevention. These products include consumer products as well as over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs. AGI is commercializing products that repair DNA and restore health damaged by age or the environment, tracking the demands of our changing demographics. Among the fields of biotechnology, AGI is a world leader in liposome dermatics, the application of liposome technology to skin, and DNA repair.