AlphaRx Concludes GAI-122 Formulation Development Intended For The Prevention o...( MARKHAM ON Aug. 27 / AlphaRx Inc. (OT...),Health

MARKHAM, ON, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - AlphaRx Inc. (OTCBB: ALRX) and Gaia BioPharma Limited announce an update on their programme to develop a preventive treatment for delirium caused by prolonged surgery. Each year in the United States, as many as 7 million hospitalized adults experience delirium, a state of confusion caused by a sudden alteration of mental status. Currently, there are no approved drugs available in the United States to prevent or manage delirium.

"Developing post-operative delirium prolongs the length of a patient's hospital stay, increases the risk of post-hospitalization transfer to a nursing home and doubles the risk of death. As the national burden of delirium to the health care system may be as high as $152 billion annually, there is an urgent need to identify a safe and effective drug therapy to reduce the incidence of delirium and its' associated health care costs," said Dr. Peter Carlen, a clinical neurologist collaborating with AlphaRx in the GAI-122 delirium program.

GAI-122 is proceeding to the clinical trial materials manufacturing stage and is expected to enter clinical trials by mid-2010. GAI-122 is protected by 4 US patent applications.

In October 2008, AlphaRx licensed GAI-122 to Gaia BioPharma. Under the terms of the amended agreement, AlphaRx is eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $50 million for the successful development and commercialization of GAI-122, as well as royalties on worldwide sales. In addition, Gaia BioPharma assumes all development costs.

About GAI-122

GAI-122, an investigational, injectable nanoemulsion formulated with AlphaRx's proprietary drug delivery technology, has been shown to provide significant neuro-protection in multiple in vitro and in vivo animal studies suggesting that this injectable nanoemulsion formulation has the potential to prevent postoperative delirium. In rat model studies, injected GAI-122 ameliorates learning and
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