( MONTEREY Calif. May 31 2007 /PRNews...)PARI and Kamada Announce Positive Intermediate Phase I Results for,Inhaled Alpha-1 Antitrypsin,Health

MONTEREY, Calif., May 31, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The first of two stages of the Phase I clinical trial show positive results for Kamada's Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) liquid drug candidate for inhalation delivered with PARI's eFlow electronic nebulizer for the treatment of patients suffering from AAT deficiency. Dosage levels studied resulted in good safety profiles and patient tolerability, leading the way to continued drug development of aerosolized AAT delivered with an optimized eFlow.

The study, which was approved by the European Medicines Agency, involved 24 patients who received various doses of inhaled AAT. AAT, also known as Alpha-1 Proteinase Inhibitor (API), is used for chronic replacement therapy in individuals who lack AAT and have an inherited form of panacinar emphysema.

Lack of AAT leads to various health problems including significant reduction in lung function, lung inflammation, shortness of breath, and recurrent exacerbations. This leads to emphysema, which is marked by damage to the walls of the air sacs in the lungs resulting in inefficient breathing and shortness of breath.

"In November 2006, we signed a strategic agreement with Kamada to develop inhaled AAT using our advanced aerosol delivery platform, eFlow. Today, we are pleased that this collaboration is showing good initial results and are optimistic that this partnership will benefit patients in the long term," said Dr. Martin Knoch, President of PARI Pharma GmbH. "By developing a targeted therapy that can be administered directly to the lungs, we believe this could be a substantial improvement and a great example of how the advancements in eFlow are helping to improve drug delivery to the lungs in the future."

AAT is currently used for replacement therapy in the form of weekly intravenous infusions that distribute the medication throughout the bloodstream in order to reach the lungs. An inhaled trea
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