Creative BioMolecules Inc. was awarded a $500,000 smallbusiness innovation research (SBIR) grant from the NationalInstitute of Dental Research to develop the periodontaltherapeutic PDGF/DEX.

The company said on Tuesday that preclinical studies haveshown that PDGF, a platelet-derived growth factor, stimulatesthe formation of periodontal tissue, including ligament, boneand cementum that is destroyed by periodontal disease. Whenthe compound is combined with the corticosteroiddexamethasone (DEX), Creative BioMolecules said theregenerative activity of PDGF has been shown to increasesignificantly.

The company received a patent for the PDGF/DEX combinationin 1992.

Creative BioMolecules (NASDAQ:CBMI) of Hopkinton, Mass., saidit plans to file an investigational new drug (IND) applicationwith FDA by the end of the year to begin clinical testing inearly 1994.

PDGF/DEX will be the company's second product to enterclinicals. This summer the company began clinical trials of adentin regeneration product for use as an alternative to rootcanal therapy. -- Brenda Sandburg

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