NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa., April 3, 2009 — After more than a decade of research and development, Kibow Biotech, Inc. announced today the launch of Kibow Biotics(R), the Company's new patented and proprietary probiotic formulation targeting kidney health. This product will be sold exclusively through their online store. Maintaining healthy kidney function is a concern for over 200 million people worldwide. Despite this need, complementary and alternative solutions have not been readily available, until now! Based on a patented platform technology, Kibow Biotics uses the bowel to augment kidney function.
Kibow Biotics will be made available initially in the U.S. (http://www.kibow.com) and in Canada (http://www.gelda.com). The product is a dietary supplement and not a drug; it is not intended to be used as a drug or as a substitute for any drug application. The Company encourages referrals from healthcare professionals, even though Kibow Biotics is a non-prescription product.
Dr. Natarajan Ranganathan, Interim CEO and Senior VP (R&D), stated, "As per U.S. FDA and FTC regulations, we cannot refer directly or indirectly to our product formulation with words like 'disease,' 'drug,' 'therapy,' 'prevent,' 'cure,' 'delay,' 'eliminate,' 'remove' or 'mitigate' any symptoms or illnesses. However, in spite of the stipulations we encounter in communicating their benefits, probiotics are increasingly well-accepted. In fact, there are hundreds of dietary supplements available over the counter (OTC) in health food stores and through various other distribution channels in the USA, in Canada and in several other countries. We are delighted that Kibow Biotics will represent new hope and significant savings for maintaining kidney health, initially in North America and Canada and progressively in other parts of the world."
The latest in the Kibow family of scientifically developed and clinically tested dietary supplements, Kibow Biotics contains three distinct strains of carefully researched and specifically selected beneficial microbes (probiotics) that possess a high affinity for various nitrogenous waste products. The microbes metabolize the waste products and use them as nutrients for growth. As the microbes grow and replicate, they create colonies capable of utilizing even more nitrogenous waste products, which are then eliminated as solid waste.
Kibow Biotics is composed of naturally occurring beneficial probiotic strains: S. thermophilus (KB-19), L. acidophilus (KB-27), B. longum (KB-31), combined with a dietary fiber (psyllium husk). Presented in an enteric-coated, gluten-free, vegetarian gel capsule, each serving of Kibow Biotics contains a total of 30 billion colony forming units (CFU).
When taken orally after every meal (3 times) on a daily basis, Kibow Biotics has the potential to help maintain healthy kidney function. A multi-site, 6-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over human clinical trial is already complete in Canada. Similar clinical trials are still in progress in USA, Mexico, Argentina and Nigeria. The development of Kibow Biotics has been made possible through partial federal funding obtained in the form of two National Institutes of Health (NIH) fast-track SBIR grants from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK). Additional support has been provided by USAID (funded through ICICI Bank, in Mumbai, India).
For more information, visit http://www.kibow.com
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current views of future events, including the status of development of the dietary supplement formulation, Kibow Biotics(R), for kidney health in USA and the possibility of its approval as a drug in some other countries according to respective governmental authorities. Kibow is not a pharmaceutical company. Kibow products are not drugs and may not be considered as a treatment or a therapy. The dietary supplement formulation of Kibow Biotics will not cure, prevent or mitigate any disease. Actual results may differ significantly from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of factors including but not limited to the possibility that Kibow Biotics may not prove to be safe or show evidence of clinical activity in the current limited human trials or that data from patients enrolled in the study may not be useful or conclusive or sufficient to guide future development of Kibow Biotics. Other factors that could cause or contribute to differences in actual results include, but are not limited to, whether or not the Company or any of its collaborators will be able to develop dietary supplements using the technologies of the Company; risks associated with completing clinical trials of product candidates; the possibility that clinical testing may reveal to be undesirable and unintended side effects or other characteristics that may prevent or limit the commercial use of proposed products; whether the cash resources of the Company will be sufficient to fund operations as planned; reliance on key employees, especially senior management; the uncertainty of the Company's future access to capital; the risk that the Company may not secure or maintain relationships with collaborators; and the Company's dependence on intellectual property. The Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
For further information, contact:
Natarajan Ranganathan, Ph.D.
Interim CEO and Senior VP (R&D)
Tel: 1 (610) 353 5130
Web site: http://www.kibow.com
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