Cardium subsidiary signs pact to study treatments in stroke patients.

An exclusive license agreement announced Oct. 22 will study the effects of two controversial treatments in stroke patients.

InnerCool Therapies Inc., a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cardium Therapeutics Inc., and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston entered into an agreement to study the effects of caffeine and ethyl alcohol--called caffeinol--in acute ischemic stroke patients.

Ischemic stroke, the most common kind of stroke, is caused by a clot that reduces blood flow to the brain.

One objective of the licensing agreement will be to evaluate the safety and efficacy of treating stroke patients with caffeinol, administered by intravenous infusion in combination with InnerCool's hypothermia treatment, which reduces body temperature through a catheter inserted into a large blood vessel.

An estimated 7.2 million American women are living with coronary heart disease and more than 4.6 million women suffer from angina.

The American Heart Association has reported that more women's lives are claimed annually by cardiovascular disease than by the next five leading causes of death combined (all cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and accidents).

In the United States, about 225 hospitals out of 5,700 have employed hypothermia systems, according to Cardium.

James Grotta, professor of neurology at the University of Texas Medical School and director of the stroke program, said in a prepared statement that the combination of caffeinol and temperature modulation therapies could reduce damage to brain tissue following stroke.

Cardium reported a net loss of $6.4 million on revenues of $229,472 for the most recent quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $3.6 million on revenues of $209,438 during the same period a year ago.

Cardium, incorporated in 2003, is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol CXM.