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New HCV Botanical Drug Enters Clinical Trial

January 16, 2007

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Utilizing Chinese medicine's long history of safe and therapeutic use, a pharmaceutical company has developed a drug derived from botanicals to treat Hepatitis C symptoms. Now that it has received FDA approval to begin clinical trials, this unique approach may become a new treatment option for Hepatitis C patients.

www.pharmalive.com
Phynova Obtains FDA Approval of its IND to Enter Into a Clinical Trial of PYN17 for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C

OXFORDSHIRE, England, Jan. 8, 2007-Phynova Group PLC (AIM: PYN), a developer of pharmaceuticals derived from Chinese botanical drugs targeting viral and metabolic diseases and cancer, is pleased to announce that its first drug candidate will shortly enter into clinical trials in the US.

The Group has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application in respect of its lead drug candidate PYN17, to proceed to the clinical trial phase. This trial will evaluate 40 patients in the USA with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).

Phynova's trial is expected to begin in Q2 2007 and will investigate the effect of PYN17 on safety and efficacy parameters. These include the key symptoms associated with CHC such as fatigue, poor concentration and abdominal pain leading to a marked deterioration in an individual's quality of life. There are no treatments currently available to effectively manage these disease symptoms.

PYN17 is a botanical drug derived from Chinese medicinal plants with a long history of safe use in humans.

Hepatitis C is a major viral disease with over 200 million sufferers worldwide including over four million in the USA.

Phynova's drug pipeline includes PYN18, an anti-viral drug for the treatment of hepatitis C and PYN22, an anti-obesity drug. In both cases patents have been filed to support these drug programmes.

Robert Miller, the CEO of Phynova said "This is a major milestone for us, validating our business model to shorten the time it takes to progress new drug candidates into human trials by developing products derived from Chinese
medicines which have a long history of use in humans. The US is the largest pharmaceutical market in the world and this approval sets us on the path to targeting that market."

Posted by Editors at January 16, 2007 1:15 PM

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