6 Oct 2009 08:59
Amphion Innovations Partner Company, WellGen, Achieves Important Milestone in Development of Medical Food for Diabetes
London and New York, October 6, 2009 - Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP) ("Amphion"), the developer of medical and technology businesses, today announces that, Amphion Partner Company, WellGen Inc., has, through pre-clinical trials, demonstrated that its propriety black tea concentrate significantly improves glucose control. WellGen® theaflavin-rich black tea concentrate, already known to be anti-inflammatory, favorably affected critical biomarkers of diabetes.
The recently completed study examined whether WellGen black tea concentrate affected measures indicative of the control of diabetes such as fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, and HbA1c. These are all important measures of glucose control. HbA1c reflects the average concentration of glucose in a subject's blood over a prolonged time. Secondarily, the study compared the effect of a diet including WellGen black tea concentrate versus a single daily dose of metformin, the first-line pharmaceutical intervention in the treatment of diabetes.
The results of this study demonstrated that a diet containing WellGen's proprietary nutraceutical significantly improved HbA1c, with a larger beneficial effect than the pharmaceutical metformin. Additionally, WellGen black tea concentrate lowered fasting glucose and significantly reduced postprandial glucose concentrations.
Based on this important finding and other supportive data, WellGen is planning human clinical studies to support a medical food for diabetes using WellGen black tea concentrate. The human study will examine glucose measures and markers of inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes.
WellGen, Inc. studies natural products with anti-inflammatory properties which work at the level of gene expression under its nutrigenomics research programme. The Company had predicted a favourable effect on diabetes measures using its Alignomx™ model. WellGen's theaflavin-rich black tea concentrate is the first in a pipeline of natural products to go through the company's research programme that applies biotechnology and pharmaceutical practices to discover and develop medical food products.
For further information please contact
| Amphion Innovations plc | |
| Charlie Morgan, Director of Communications | +1 (212) 210 6224 |
| | |
| WellGen, Inc. | |
| Patricia Lucas-Schnarre, Vice President, Marketing | +1 (732) 565 3890 x4403 |
| Cardew Group | |
| Tim Robertson/ Jamie Milton/ Matthew Law | +44 20 7930 0777 |
| Charles Stanley (Nominated Adviser) | |
| Mark Taylor/ Freddy Crossley | +44 20 7149 6000 |
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion (LSE: AMP) builds shareholder value in high growth companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK. Amphion has significant shareholding in 10 Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces, each in excess of $1 billion. Each Partner Company is chosen with the goal of achieving an exit valuation in excess of $100 million.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com
About WellGen, Inc.
WellGen, Inc., based in North Brunswick, N.J., is a biotechnology company at the crossroads of foods and pharmaceuticals. Using the science of nutrigenomics, the company has developed Alignomx™, a proprietary bioinformatics model that uses gene expression data to determine optimal therapeutic areas for WellGen's pipeline of proprietary natural products. Through its in-house expertise in nutrigenomics and natural product chemistry, WellGen is developing proprietary medical foods and has additionally identified several opportunities in the functional food and beverage and dietary supplement markets.
On the web: www.wellgen.com