A treatment for low blood pressure has been shown in clinicalstudies to enable people with orthostatic hypotension to standwithout dizziness or fainting.

By comparison, the eight-patient trial of RobertsPharmaceutical Corp.'s Amatine showed that no improvementwas seen with a related drug, ephedrine, which has been triedfor this condition in the United States.

No approved drugs are available for the problem in the UnitedStates, but Amatine has been used in Europe to treatorthostatic hypotension for the past decade.

The company said the data is to be presented by the ClevelandClinic physicians in April at the American College of Cardiologymeeting.

Separately, the Eatontown, N.J., company (NASDAQ:RPCX) haspublished data on its Somaguard treatment for children withgrowth disorders.

The study at the National Institutes of Health, published in thecurrent Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism,showed that children with precocious puberty reachedsignificantly taller height than they would have without thetwo-year therapy of the hormone analog.

Somaguard, designated an orphan drug, is available on a cost-recovery basis in the United States for treating centralprecocious puberty (CPP). The company estimates that earlyonset of puberty affects one in 10,000 children, with CPP as themost common cause. Somaguard is also in Phase III testing as atreatment for late-stage prostate cancer.

The stock closed down $1.50 at $33 on Friday. -- RF

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