Emmaus Medical, Inc. Enters Into Sub-License Agreement for Treatment of Short Bowel...

Emmaus Medical, Inc. Enters Into Sub-License Agreement for Treatment of Short
Bowel Syndrome
Torrance-based firm will introduce NutreStore(TM) in spring 2008

TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmaus Medical, Inc., a
Torrance, California based pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has
entered into an exclusive sublicense agreement with Cato BioVentures of
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina for the patent protected drug
NutreStore(TM) brand L-Glutamine. Under this agreement, Emmaus will
commercialize NutreStore(TM), which is approved by the FDA for use in
combination with human growth hormone as a treatment for short bowel syndrome
(SBS). Emmaus will be introducing NutreStore(TM) in the spring of 2008 and
projects that its sales will greatly contribute to its short and long term
financial performance of the company.
SBS is a serious and life threatening condition afflicting around 20,000
Americans who have lost large portions of their small intestine. This leads
to a malnourished condition requiring total parenteral nutrition (TPN) through
intravenous feeding.
NutreStore(TM) in conjunction with human growth hormone and an appropriate
diet is the first new treatment since the development of TPN for patients with
short bowel syndrome. Clinical studies of this combination therapy
administered to SBS patients dependent upon TPN for nutritional support showed
a significant reduction in the required weekly volume, caloric content and
frequency of TPN administration compared to patients treated with human growth
hormone alone. "This combination therapy offers patients a unique opportunity
to improve intestinal absorption of food, which leads to a much better quality
of life for SBS patients," said Douglas Wilmore, M.D., a board member of
Emmaus. Dr. Wilmore is an Emeritus Frank Sawyer Professor of Surgery at
Harvard Medical School, the inventor of this SBS treatment, and
Editor-in-Chief of the Medscape General Surgery section of Medscape Today, at
http://www.WebMD.com.
Currently, patients who require L-Glutamine must purchase
non-pharmaceutical grade L-Glutamine on their own without insurance coverage.
With a prescription, NutreStore(TM) will be covered by insurance, thus lifting
a large financial burden from patients who wish to optimize their SBS
treatment with an FDA approved pharmaceutical product.
"Cato BioVentures is excited to partner with Emmaus Medical for the
marketing of NutreStore(TM) and looks forward to a long and successful
relationship with the company," said Joel Eisner, Ph.D., Associate Principal
of Cato BioVentures.
About Emmaus Medical, Inc.
Emmaus Medical, Inc., led by Yutaka Niihara, M.D., M.P.H., CEO, and Daniel
R. Kimbell, Esq., COO, is a private company founded to develop new treatments
for sickle cell disease and other orphan diseases such as SBS. Emmaus works
closely with the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA
Medical Center (LABioMed) and is currently conducting multi-center, double
blind, placebo controlled, clinical trials to determine the safety and
efficacy of L-Glutamine for sickle cell disease. Emmaus Medical is the
recipient of an FDA orphan drug designation and fast track designation for the
sickle cell project. For more information, please visit our website
http://www.emmausmedical.com.
About Cato BioVentures
Cato BioVentures is the venture capital affiliate of Cato Research Ltd.
For nearly 20 years, Cato BioVentures has assisted entrepreneurs and
established management teams in building successful life science companies.
Through strategic CRO service agreements with Cato Research, Cato BioVentures
invests its in-kind CRO Service Capital in innovative therapeutics, medical
devices, diagnostics and platform tools and technologies for improved drug
discovery and development, offering promising life science companies immediate
access to a broad range of essential CRO services on a noncash basis. Access
to these time-critical CRO services enables management to achieve key
value-added development and regulatory milestones with less reliance on other
sources of capital. Cato BioVentures has offices in Boston's Bay Colony,
Research Triangle Park and Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit
our website http://www.catobioventures.com.
Contact:

Henry Macan, M.D., Senior Manager
Emmaus Medical, Inc.
3870 Del Amo Boulevard, Unit 507
Torrance, CA 90503-7701
Tel. 310.214.0065
Email: hmacan@emmausmedical.com

Joel Eisner, Ph.D., Associate Principal
Cato BioVentures
4364 South Alston Avenue
Durham, NC 27713
Tel. 919-361-2286
Email: jeisner@cato.com

SOURCE Emmaus Medical, Inc.

Henry Macan, M.D., Senior Manager of Emmaus Medical, Inc., +1-310-214-0065,
hmacan@emmausmedical.com; or Joel Eisner, Ph.D., Associate Principal of Cato
BioVentures, +1-919-361-2286, jeisner@cato.com