METABOLIC PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED 2002-08-21 ASX-SIGNAL-GHOMEX -...

METABOLIC PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED 2002-08-21 ASX-SIGNAL-G

HOMEX - Melbourne

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GRANT DETAILS

We are pleased to announce that the Industry Research and Development
(IR&D) Board has approved a grant to Metabolic under the
Biotechnology Innovation Fund to undertake preclinical studies of
candidate drugs for treating iron overload diseases.

The grant will provide up to $234,700 in dollar-for-dollar funding
over 2 years.

PRELIMINARY DATA

We are also pleased to announce that animal experiments performed to
date under this project have shown positive results. So far we have,
obtained clear evidence that our current most favoured iron chelating
compound (now codenamed MBP0201) is orally active, reliably enhancing
iron excretion by the expected amount in rodents after oral
administration. This is an encouraging indication that MBP0201 may
provide an orally dosable treatment for iron overload conditions.

Next Steps Preparations are underway to conduct further preclinical
efficacy and safety studies on MBP0201, and to appoint a contract
manufacturer of bulk quantities of MBP0201 for animal toxicity and
clinical studies.

ABOUT MBP0201 AND IRON OVERLOAD

In March 2002 Metabolic Pharmaceuticals entered into an exclusive
license agreement with the Heart Research Institute (HRI) of Sydney
to develop a drug for the treatment of iron overload diseases. The
candidate drug is an iron chelating compound invented by Professor
Des Richardson, then of the HRI, and coworkers, Prof Richardson is
an international leader in iron metabolism. He has recently shifted
his laboratory to the Children's Cancer Institute, affiliated with
the University of New South Wales, where our research collaboration
is now continuing.

Iron overload occurs when iron accumulates inside the body's cells to
toxic levels. This is most often caused by either hereditary
conditions or repeated blood transfusions in patients with severe
anemia. Iron chelator drugs bind to iron and remove the excess iron
from the body.

The iron chelator market, potentially worth up to US$350 million per
annum, has long been dominated by a single treatment, desferoxamine
('Desferal') from Novartis. This drug has the disadvantage of being
expensive to manufacture and inconvenient to administer, requiring
either multiple daily injections or overnight infusions. There is a
strong market need for an effective orally administered iron
chelator.

Metabolic's candidate, iron chelator MBP0201 is easy to manufacture,
appears to safely remove excess iron from inside cells and now have
been shown in the recent rodent studies to be orally active.

Metabolic anticipates from its market assessment that a safe and
effective orally administered iron chelator could

* compete very favourably with the existing treatments, and become
the treatment of choice for controlling iron overload in the
treatment of beta-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia;

* expand the market by becoming more often used in the treatment of
patients with more common iron overload conditions, such as
hereditary hemochromatosis. Hereditary hemochromatosis is the most
common iron overload condition and one of the most common genetic
disorders in the United States. About 0.5%, (approximately 1,000,000)
of the US white population have this hereditary disorder, making them
susceptible to developing iron overload. Most sufferers of this
common condition currently are treated by phlebotomy (periodic
blood-letting) to control their iron overload. A safe and effective
oral iron chelator may contribute to a protocol change for the
treatment of these patients.

ABOUT METABOLIC

Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:MBP) is a biotechnology company
based in Melbourne, Australia developing a pipeline of pharmaceutical
compounds to provide new drugs for world markets, Metabolic's most
advanced compound is AOD9604 for obesity. The company recently
completed intravenous Phase 2A clinical trials on AOD9604 with
promising results, and expects to obtain and release results from an
oral Phase 2A clinical trial by the end of August. AOD9604 directly
affects the metabolism of fat and is an analog of a fragment of the
human growth hormone: molecule. In addition to the iron chelating
compounds which are the subject of this announcement, Metabolic is
also assessing, in preclinical studies, compounds for the treatment
of type II diabetes and osteoporosis.


Contact Details and Further Information

website www.metabolic.com.au
Investor Relations David Kenley +61 3 9826 0949
Managing Director Chris Belyea +61 3 9826 0949.