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Access Pharmaceuticals reports positive MuGard data from European trials

Published: 18:28 12 Oct 2010 BST

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Biopharmaceutical company Access Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:ACCP.ob) has said that its product MuGard, an oral wound rinse that treats oral mucositis, showed a significant improvement in cancer patients with the disease in a European study.

At the European Society of Medical Oncology Conference in Milan, the company presented that MuGard provided a significant improvement in oral mucositis lesions and symptoms in more than 75% of cancer patients treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Oral mucositis is a common side effect of cancer treatment. Up to 40% of all patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy develop moderate to severe mucositis, and all almost all patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer develop the disease.

MuGard is a mucoadhesive oral wound liquid that provides a protective coating over the lesions. The product has also received marketing allowance in the US for a broad indication of treating lesions of the mouth. In Europe, the product is a class IIa medical device, which has been granted CE mark certification for the prevention and management of the lesions as well as symptoms of oral mucositis.

During the European clinical trials, the company also found that patients reported a 52% significant reduction in oral discomfort in patients with pre-existing lesions, and reported a substantial reduction in the use of pain medication.

In addition, no product-related adverse reactions were identified, as the oral wound rinse was well-tolerated by 86% of patients.

"These additional findings out of Europe are very exciting and strengthen our belief in the clinical benefits that MuGard can provide patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy," said CEO Jeffrey Davis.

"This data confirms the competitive advantages of MuGard over the current treatment options on the market and we will use this data to educate patients, clinicians and the medical industry on the superior attributes of our product."

Earlier this year, Access presented MuGard data at the MASCC Conference from a US clinical trial, showing that 42% of patients using MuGard preventatively never exceeded an Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS) score of 0.5.

The most positive impact was observed when patients used MuGard on the first day of cancer therapy and continued during the entire duration of treatment, the company said.

Aside from Mugard, Access' product portfolio includes ProLindac, currently in Phase II clinical testing for patients with ovarian cancer. The company also has drug delivery technologies CobaCyte-mediated targeted delivery and Cobalamin oral drug delivery.

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