biodiem up 6 percent on patent announcement

New patent filed for BDM-E
BioDiem (ASX:BDM) announced today that it has filed a new provisional patent application in respect of improved formulations of its peptide BDM-E, which is being developed for the treatment of ocular diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age related macular degeneration.
Patents have previously been granted in the US, Australia, Europe and Japan. Patents have also been allowed in Israel and Canada, and will proceed to grant.
BioDiem is conducting a phase I/II clinical trial of BDM-E in patients with diabetic macular oedema, a type of vision loss brought on by diabetes. This trial is a double masked, placebo controlled trial being conducted in compliance with ICH Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines, managed by a Swiss contract research organization.
Enrolment is three quarters complete towards a target of 192 patients. Additional sites have been added making 13 in total in St Petersburg, Moscow and regional cities and enrolment is now expected to be complete in the second quarter, with the final study report due in 4Q07. The study end-points are changes in macular oedema measured by ocular coherence tomography and changes in visual acuity measured over a 3 month period.
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes causing damage to blood vessels in the retina. It is the leading cause of blindness in working age people.
Eye tissue studies are underway at the University of Wisconsin to elucidate the underlying activity of BDM-E on different cells in the retina. Other work on the mechanism of action is proceeding at Cambridge University.
For further information:
Tom Williams
BioDiem Ltd
(03) 9613 4100
0419 868 911