ferrets stock to watch: apollo life sciences ltd

Ferrets Stock to Watch: APOLLO LIFE SCIENCES LTD
08:42, Tuesday, 26 September 2006

A POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH IN TREATMENT OF DIABETES

Sydney - Tuesday - September 26: (RWE Aust Business News)
*********************************************************

OVERVIEW
********

A small biotech company believes it can make needle-free insulin
for diabetes treatment now possible.

Apollo Life Sciences (ASX:AOP) has achieved a major breakthrough
by successfully lowering blood glucose levels in diabetic rats with oral
insulin, using its proprietary oral delivery technology, Oradel.

Currently, people with diabetes can require up to 1,500 insulin
injections a year to manage their condition.

Diabetes affects almost one million Australians, and 100,000
people develop the disease annually.

Results from a series of pre-clinical studies indicate that
Oradel successfully delivers generic insulin to diabetic rats,
significantly lowering blood glucose levels for a sustained period of
time with a single dose.

Oral feeding of diabetic rats with Oradel insulin resulted in
reduction in blood glucose levels in responder animals of up to 80 per
cent which persisted for longer than six hours.

In these studies, the oral insulin formulation was administered
once daily to diabetic rats, and blood glucose levels were measured at
one- or two-hour intervals over an extended period.

The Ferret only recently suggested investors keep an eye on this
company.

SHARE PRICE MOVEMENTS
*********************

Shares of Apollo Life yesterday rose 2c to 34c. Rolling high for
the year has been 85c and a low of 30c. The company has 64.3 million
shares on issue with a market cap of $20.5 million.

One of Australia's top diabetes specialists has praised the
company's work in developing an insulin that can be taken as a tablet
rather than injected, calling needle-free insulin "the Holy Grail" in
diabetes treatment.

Professor Paul Zimmet AO is director of the International
Diabetes Institute, which will conduct clinical trials of Apollo's
cutting-edge oral insulin.

"If the trials are successful, this could mean an end to
injections for many people with diabetes," Prof Zimmet said.

"Currently, people with insulin-requiring diabetes need up to
1,500 insulin shots a year to stay alive."

Tests with diabetic rats have already indicated that Apollo's
oral insulin works as effectively as injected insulin in lowering and
managing blood sugar levels.

"I was very impressed with the data," Prof Zimmet said.

"We're very excited about the opportunity to carry out clinical
trials with the Apollo formulation.

"It appears that they have a jump on the rest of the
competition."

Apollo's director of science, Dr Greg Russell-Jones, said that
the oral insulin is a major breakthrough because the stomach's digestive
acids usually destroy insulin before it can be absorbed by the body.

"Apollo's formula overcomes this problem with a protective
coating," Dr Russell-Jones said.

"This home-grown discovery has the potential to revolutionise
diabetes treatment.

"The global market for diabetes medication is worth $18 billion a
year," he said.

Diabetes affects almost one million Australians, and 100,000
people develop the disease each year. This figure is predicted to grow as
Type II diabetes becomes more prevalent.

Prof Zimmet confirmed Apollo's development appears to be well
ahead of its competitors.

"The Holy Grail remains the possibility of an oral form. There
has been huge investment around the world, with very little success to
date," he said.

"But Apollo has developed a technology that gets a significant
amount of insulin through the stomach into the bloodstream.

"The data I've seen so far makes this one of the most
forward-looking and best prospects of an oral insulin coming to
fruition," Prof Zimmet said.

BACKGROUND
**********

Apollo Life Sciences was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
on June 29, 2005.

The company focuses on developing and commercialising human
proteins for treatment of disease and ageing.

It also has a number of therapeutic products currently in
development.

Apollo Life is developing therapeutics to combat such diseases as
Psoriasis, Hepatitis C, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Alzheimer's, strokes and stents.

It has also conducted preliminary work on proteins that target
Hepatitis B, HIV, Dementia, Parkinson's disease and certain types of
cancer.

Apollo is in the pre-clinical stages of testing products for hair
regrowth, hair removal and skin rejuvenation.

The company offers research reagents to scientists for pure and
applied biological experiments which it believes are are more suitable
for research because of their human-like properties.

ENDS