Preclinical data developed by a team of researchers at theMedical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee showed thatimmunomodulator (MPL) protects against cardiac tissuedamage associated with reperfusion injury.

Ribi ImmunoChem Research Inc. of Hamilton, Mont., hascompleted Phase I/II testing of MPL. The company announcedthe presentation of the data by the Wisconsin researchersThursday.

The data, developed by Garrett Gross and his colleagues,indicates that administration of MPL before cardiac ischemiaand reperfusion reduces the size of tissue damage by morethan 50 percent compared to a control. Gross presented thedata at a recent meeting of the American Society ofPharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Based on the data, Ribi ImmunoChem (NASDAQ:RIBI) is planningto initiate a Phase II human clinical study in cardiac arterialbypass graft patients in the fourth quarter of this year.

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