U of S Signs Letter of Intent to Commercialize Treatment for Lung Injury Complications

Posted May 06, 2004


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 6, 2004 2004-05-13-OTHER

U of S Signs Letter of Intent to Commercialize Treatment for Lung Injury
Complications

A letter of intent to commercialize a new drug treatment for Acute
Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) has been signed between the University
of Saskatchewan's Industry Liaison Office (ILO) and IL Therapeutics Inc., a
new start-up firm at Innovation Place on the U of S campus.

The announcement was made today by ILO Managing Director Doug Gill during
Investment Future Forum 2004, hosted by Investment Saskatchewan Inc. and
Saskatchewan Industry and Resources in Regina.

ARDS is a rapid form of respiratory failure resulting from an injury to the
lungs. Patients die in roughly half the cases.

U of S researchers John Gordon and Fang Li developed the proposed treatment
which involves a protein that can be administered by injection to patients
experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, the syndrome.

The letter of intent also paves the way to explore potential uses of the
proposed treatment for inflammatory diseases in humans and animals,
including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, shipping fever
and mastitis.

ILO will continue discussions with IL Therapeutics Inc., managed by the
Saskatoon office of Lombard Life Sciences (Lombard), regarding a worldwide
exclusive license for the compound, with ARDS as the main target for
treatment.

Lombard manages the $90-million Western Life Sciences Venture Fund LP (WLS
Fund), which creates, acquires and develops emerging life sciences
companies. The WLS Fund has helped launch two Saskatchewan companies in the
past eight months based on technology developed at the U of S. Investment
Saskatchewan Inc. is an investor in the WLS Fund.

The research underlying the proposed new treatment was funded by the
Saskatchewan Agricultural Development Fund and the Alberta Agricultural
Research Institute.

ILO was created in January to replace UST Inc. as the university's
technology transfer arm. ILO operates out of the Office of the
Vice-President Research to encourage invention and innovation by faculty,
promote research collaboration and technology transfer opportunities with
industrial partners, and help form spin-off companies that will create and
market products from U of S inventions.

Over the past five years, UST/ILO has helped to set up seven new companies
in Saskatoon, ranging from small consulting companies to high-tech
nanotechnology and bio-pharmaceutical firms. For information about
available technologies, visit: http://www.usask.ca/ust/tech/index.html

The U of S aims to triple its total revenues from commercialized
university-developed technology to $3 million by 2010.

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For more information, contact:

John Gordon
Professor of Veterinary Microbiology
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-7214

Doug Gill
ILO Managing Director
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-7335

Kathryn Warden
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2506

Kevin McGarry
President and CEO
Lombard Life Sciences
(306) 975-9883