FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2010
Salient Pharmaceuticals Meets Goals on Second Round Funding from Texas Emerging Technology Fund
HOUSTON, Texas -- Salient Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has announced the receipt of its second $1 million investment from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF). The investment is part of an overall $2 million commitment made by Texas Governor Perry and the TETF in 2009 to the Houston-based life sciences company. The first million of the investment was received at the time of the commitment.
Seeking to develop it's proprietary CASAD(TM) compound for use in treating severe diarrhea associated with chemotherapy, chronic conditions and infectious diseases, Salient is now conducting multiple pre-clinical and clinical trials around the country.
"When we first joined with TETF, we committed to meeting six key milestones before securing the second investment. We believe this second round investment is affirmation of the hard work and results being seen in our ongoing research and patient trials," said President and CEO Richard Scruggs. "The State's support, through the TETF is crucial to the commercialization of Texas-based technologies in cutting-edge medical and technology research."
Salient recently enrolled its thirtieth patient in a Phase II clinical trial, testing the use of CASAD in treating cancer therapy-induced diarrhea (CTID) in colorectal cancer patients receiving irinotecan. The Company has also expanded the CTID trial beyond MD Anderson Cancer Center. With the support of the National Cancer Institute's Community Clinical Oncology Program, Salient now has 14 oncology clinics in addition to MD Anderson, conducting the study.
"We designed and secured a provider for initial drug-drug interaction testing," Scruggs said. "These steps were accomplished early in the fourth quarter of 2009 with the tests completed early in 2010. The results have showed no unexpected interactions. We have also completed twenty-four months of stability testing. CASAD has now been on stability testing for over 30 months with satisfactory results at every checkpoint."
Robert A. Newman, professor emeritus from the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center, chairs Salient's Scientific Advisory Board and is joined by a world-class team of experts representing a wide breadth of experience in medicine, academia and industry. The Board first met last fall in New York City and continues to meet on a regular basis.
Formed in 2007, Salient Pharmaceuticals mission is to improve health and quality of life while strengthening the odds of therapy success for patients who suffer from the debilitating effects of chronic and/or acute diarrhea.
The TETF is an initiative created by the Texas Legislature in 2005 at the governor's request. A 17-member advisory committee of high-tech leaders, entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends funding allocations to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House.
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