Morria Biopharmaceuticals Plc Announces Results From its Pre-Clinical Screening of Novel Anti-Inflammatory...( LONDON Oct. 7 /- Morria Biopharma...)

LONDON, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Morria Biopharmaceuticals Plc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs, announced today the results of the ongoing screening of its novel anti-inflammatory drugs using MD Biosciences' Immunoprofiler(TM) in vitro screening service. The screen was specifically chosen to identify and assess the anti-inflammatory properties of Morria's proprietary multi-functional anti-inflammatory compounds. The Immunoprofiler(TM) Screen uses rat macrophage cells which are stimulated using endotoxin (LPS), a potent inflammation-inducing agent. The assay measures key inflammatory mediators, which are released by the stimulated cells. A steroid comparator is included as a positive control.

Morria's lead compounds significantly reduced the levels of the following inflammatory mediators: GM-CSF (Granulocyte Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor), IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha), MIP-1 alpha (Macrophage Inflammatory Protein 1 alpha), MCP-1 (Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1), IP-10 (Inducible Protein 10) and PGE-2 (Prostaglandin E-2). Cell proliferation assay (XTT reduction) demonstrated that these effects were not caused by cytotoxicity. The anti-inflammatory efficacy was comparable or better than the steroid control in each case.

"We are pleased by the wide range of divergent inflammatory mediators that we are modulating, several of which have been extensively covered in the scientific literature recently. Mediators, such as IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha, are currently targets of research and development in the pharmaceutical field, and our synthetic compounds clearly modulate them efficiently," said Yuval Cohen, President of Morria Biopharmaceuticals.

Specifically, several of the inflammatory mediators assayed have been identified as important players in Morria's current clinical programs (allergic rhinitis and dermatitis) and pre-clinical programs (asthma, Infla
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