Demand for Enlarged Prostate Treatments Expected to Rise Sharply
Positive Trial Results for Nymox's NX-1207 Drug Treatment for Enlarged Prostate
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ (October 17, 2006) Changing demographics and attitudes towards
health will drive the demand for new and effective treatments for enlarged prostate in the
maturing male baby boomer population, according to Brian Doyle, Senior Manager for
Worldwide Sales and Marketing for Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ:NYMX). Enlarged
prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is currently the fourth most commonly
diagnosed ailment of men over the age of 50 in the U.S. (Am J Manag Care.
2006;12(4 Suppl):S83-9). In 2000 alone approximately 4.5 million visits were made to
physician offices for a primary diagnosis of BPH (Urological Diseases in America
Chapter 2, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, National Institutes of Health). This
number is expected to rise sharply as the men of the baby boomer generation enter their
50s and 60s.
Nymox has developed NX-1207, an innovative new treatment for BPH. The company's
recently completed Phase 2 trial showed positive efficacy and safety results for NX-1207.
Overall, patients treated with NX-1207 showed mean improvement of 9.35 points in AUA
Symptom Score values, the standard scale used to evaluate BPH drugs and treatments. This
improvement compares favorably to the 3.5 to 5 point reported in published studies of
currently approved drugs for BPH and reached statistical significance when compared to
placebo. Subjects treated with NX-1207 also showed an overall significant reduction in
mean prostate volume. The results of the trial demonstrated the excellent safety and side
effect profile of NX-1207. Subjects treated with NX-1207 had no serious side effects. In
particular, patients given NX-1207 had no (0%) significant sexual side effects. Serious
adverse events occurred in 5.1% of all placebo patients, and in 0% of the NX-1207 treated
group.
“The demand for effective treatments for BPH will be driven not only by the
increase in the total number of men with BPH but also by the changing attitudes towards
health in the baby boomer generation,” said Brian Doyle. “Increasingly, men
enter their 50s and 60s expecting to maintain their level of health and activity. BPH
represents a challenge to those expectations, both in terms of lifestyle and physical
health. Current treatments either are not very effective or carry risks of serious side
effects or both. There is a pressing unmet need for a convenient and effective treatment
of this common affliction of men.”
BPH afflicts approximately half of men over age 50 and close to 90% of men by age 80.
The disorder causes difficulties with urination associated with aging, such as urination
at night, urge to void frequently, hesitancy, weak stream, and other problems.
More information about Nymox is available at www.nymox.com, email: info@nymox.com, or 800-936-9669.
This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” as
defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve
a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate and the actual results and future events could differ materially from
management's current expectations. The conduct of clinical trials and the development of
drug products involve substantial risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ
materially from expectations. Promising early results do not ensure that later stage or
larger scale clinical trials will be successful or will proceed as expected. Such factors
are detailed from time to time in Nymox's filings with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.