Protalix
BioTherapeutics, Inc. (Amex: PLX) today announced that it has reached an
agreement with the United States Food and Drug Administration on the final
design of its pivotal phase III clinical trial for its lead product
candidate, prGCD, through the FDA's Special Protocol Assessment (SPA)
process. The Company expects to initiate enrollment of patients for its
phase III clinical trials during the third quarter of 2007.
prGCD is a proprietary plant cell expressed recombinant form of human
Glucocerebrosidase (GCD), for the treatment of Gaucher disease, a lysosomal
storage disorder in humans.
The phase III clinical trial will take place in leading medical centers
in the United States, Israel, where approval from the Israeli Ministry of
Health has been received, and other locations worldwide. The clinical trial
will initially consist of male and female adult patients with Gaucher
disease.
About Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc.
Protalix is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. Its goal is to
become a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on focused on
the development and commercialization of proprietary recombinant
therapeutic proteins to be expressed through its proprietary plant cell
based expression system. Protalix's ProCellEx(TM) presents a proprietary
method for the expression of recombinant proteins that Protalix believes is
safe and scalable and will allow for the cost-effective, industrial-scale
production of recombinant therapeutic proteins. Protalix has recently
announced that it has received written notice from the United States Food
and Drug Administration that it may initiate a phase III clinical trial in
the United States of its lead product candidate, prGCD, for its enzyme
replacement therapy for Gaucher disease, a lysosomal storage disorder in
humans. Protalix is also advancing additional recombinant biopharmaceutical
drug development programs.
Safe Harbor Statement:
To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly
historical, all such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant
to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future experience and
results to differ materially from the statements made. These statements are
based on our current beliefs and expectations as to such future outcomes.
Drug discovery and development involve a high degree of risk. Factors that
might cause such a material difference include, among others, the inherent
risks and uncertainties in developing drug platforms and products of the
type we are developing; delays in our preparation and filing of
applications for regulatory approval; delays in the approval or potential
rejection of any applications we file with the FDA, or other health
regulatory authorities; any lack of progress of our research and
development (including the results of clinical trials being conducted by
us); obtaining on a timely basis sufficient patient enrollment in our
clinical trials; the impact of development of competing therapies and/or
technologies by other companies; our ability to obtain additional
financings required to fund our research programs; our ability to establish
and maintain strategic license, collaboration and distribution arrangements
and to manage our relationships with collaborators, distributors and
partners; potential product liability risks and risks of securing adequate
levels of product liability and clinical trial insurance coverage; the
possible disruption of our operations due to terrorist activities and armed
conflict, including as a result of the disruption of operations of
regulatory authorities, our subsidiaries, our manufacturing facilities and
our customers, suppliers, distributors, couriers, collaborative partners,
licensees, and clinical trial sites; and other factors described in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements are
valid only as of the date hereof and we disclaim any obligation to update
this information.
Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc.
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