[aftermathman]

What with the trial progressing at "geological time" there must be a world of data available.

The fact that Titan wants to shout about Spheramine this close to Q3 and clinical trial reporting has to be good news.

Then again, we all remember Amgen shouting about GDNF and then ... no keep positive Neil.

Neil.

Five-Year Update of Pilot Study Shows Spheramine Reduces Severity and Frequency of Parkinson's Symptoms While Also Improving Health-Related Quality of Life

CHICAGO & SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:TTP - News) today announced that Spheramine®, the company’s novel cell-based therapy being developed in collaboration with Bayer Schering Pharma AG for the potential treatment of moderate to advanced Parkinson’s disease, will be featured in two scientific posters presented today at the 12th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in Chicago.

“We continue to be very encouraged by the positive results from this open label pilot study, and of the potential of Spheramine to provide long term benefits to patients with moderate to advanced Parkinson's disease,” said Marc Rubin, M.D., President and CEO of Titan. “We expect to have results of our ongoing Phase IIb trial early in the third quarter of this year and look forward to important progress with this program which addresses a critical unmet medical need for Parkinson’s patients.”

This open-label pilot study was conducted at Emory University Hospital to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of Spheramine and enrolled six patients with moderate to advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Spheramine was administered in the most affected side of the patient's brain using a needle and MRI guidance. The primary exploratory efficacy measure was the change in the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor sub-score during the practically defined off-state (patients not taking anti-Parkinsonian medications for at least 12 hours), and a preliminary evaluation of health related quality of life (HRQoL) using the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Substantial improvements from the baseline in UPDRS motor sub-score off medication (44% at year four) and patient reported quality of life scores (23% at year four) have been reported during the last four years, and the presentations today provide details of patient follow-up through year five.

Details of the two presentations are as follows:

“Spheramine® Improves Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Moderate to Advanced Parkinson’s Disease” (Abstract 388) will be presented by Dr. Natividad P. Stover, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), on Tuesday, June 24 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT in the Hilton Chicago’s Southeast Exhibit Hall.

The objective of this long-term pilot study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients who underwent implantation with Spheramine. Six patients were enrolled and were evaluated across a range of quality of life factors including mobility, stigma, activities of daily living, communication, bodily discomfort, cognition, emotional well-being, and social support for five years following Spheramine implantation. Overall, HRQoL scores improved for all patients from baseline at five years after surgery. Improvement was observed for mobility (41.7%), stigma (40.0%), ADL (33.3%), communication (33.3%), bodily discomfort (25.7%), cognition (19.0%), and emotional well-being (6.1%), while the measure for social support declined (22.2%). These endpoints suggest that unilateral implantation of Spheramine may contribute to enhanced HRQoL in moderate to advanced PD. This result complements the primary outcomes of safety and tolerability in this trial.

“Five-Year Update of the Safety and Efficacy of Unilateral Intrastriatal Implantation of Spheramine®” (Abstract 598) will be presented by Dr. Ray L. Watts, Chair of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Neurology and Director of Clinical Research, UAB Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Research Program, on Tuesday, June 24 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT in the Hilton Chicago’s Northeast Exhibit Hall.

No major new or unexpected safety concerns emerged with the treatment of Spheramine during the first five years of the study. Results of the study demonstrate that Spheramine reduces the severity and frequency of Parkinsonian symptoms in patients who underwent unilateral implantation, and these improvements over baseline appear to continue through 60 months as observed with a mean improvement of 14% in the UPDRS motor sub-score off medication. Although the five-year improvement is modest compared to prior years, this is not unexpected with unilateral treatment, since the hemisphere not receiving an implant remains untreated. The study has been extended to 10 years of evaluation.

Based on the encouraging one-year results in this open-label pilot study, Titan and its partner Bayer Schering Pharma AG initiated a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, sham surgery-controlled study (STEPS) to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of Spheramine. This study completed enrollment with 71 patients last year, and top-line efficacy results are expected to be available early in the third quarter of 2008.