Hopkinton-based Boston Life Sciences Inc. reports it has put up a potential $35 million-plus for an exclusive, worldwide license with BioAxone Therapeutic Inc. of Montreal, Canada, to develop and commercialize Cethrin, as well as other specified compounds, to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI) and other serious Central Nervous System disorders.

The license agreement has BLSI paying an upfront license fee of $10 million, payable in two installments ($2.5 million of which was paid on execution and $7.5 million due on or before March 31, 2007), possible performance milestones of up to $25 million, and ongoing royalties based on sales of Cethrin after approval. Continue Reading »

Interim Results Report Drug’s Safety and Possible Recovery of Function After Debilitating Injury; FDA “Orphan Drug” Status Provides Important Strategic Advantages

HOPKINTON, Mass., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boston Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLSI – News), a Biotechnology company focused on diagnostic and therapeutic products for Central Nervous System disorders, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive, worldwide license with BioAxone Therapeutic Inc. of Montreal, Canada, to develop and commercialize Cethrin as well as other specified compounds subject to the license to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI) and other serious central nervous system disorders. The license provides for an up-front license fee, possible performance milestones, and on-going royalties based on sales of Cethrin after approval. Continue Reading »

MONTREAL, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ – BioAxone Therapeutic announced today that it has licensed its clinical phase II spinal cord injury drug Cethrin to Boston Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLSI – News). The worldwide, exclusive licensing agreement grants Boston Life Sciences the rights to develop and commercialize BioAxone’s portfolio of proprietary recombinant fusion proteins, products, and associated patents to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI) and other serious Central Nervous System disorders. The license provides for an up-front license fee of US$10 million payable in 2 installments (US$2.5 million paid on execution and US$7.5 million due on or before March 31, 2007), possible performance milestones of up to US$25 million and on-going royalties based on sales of Cethrin after approval. Detailed terms of the license were not disclosed. Continue Reading »

Levitra® (vardenafil HCl) Demonstrates Normal Erectile Function in 53% of Men with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Changes to the European label for Levitra shows that it is effective for men with erectile dysfunction (ED) due to SCI

Results from RESPITE (REsults in SPinal Cord Injury PaTiEnts: Vardenafil for Erectile Dysfunction) study1 showed that 53% of patients treated with Levitra reported that their erectile function returned to normal (an IIEF-EF domain score of >26 is considered to be clinically normal level of sexual function2) compared to 9% who took placebo (p<0.001). Continue Reading »

A novel approach from Rutgers holds potential for Central Nervous System damage

NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Uric acid is commonly associated with the excruciatingly painful joint disease known as gout, but it can also play a crucial role in the treatment of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, according to Rutgers’ Bonnie Firestein.

Firestein, an associate professor of cell biology and neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and her laboratory team have reported their discovery in the Early View (online in advance of print) version of the journal Glia. Continue Reading »

Smiling through the pain, Teresa Hukari works to develop core body strength with a Physical Therapist at Project Walk.

Her injuries included fractures to several Vertebrae and spinal cord injury, leaving her with very limited use of one arm and no use at all of her legs. Hukari spent seven weeks in the intensive care unit and neuro-science wing of a Boise hospital and several months in an Acute rehabilitation center in Denver, and is now a month into an intensive program at Project Walk, a spinal cord injury recovery center in Carlsbad, Calif.

For someone who was used to a life of climbing, skiing, kayaking and cycling, the blow was hard. But she has attacked the challenge with guts and determination and a host of cheerleaders in her home towns of Ketchum and Hood River. Continue Reading »

Progress for Andy Scott comes in bits and pieces.

The Powell, Wyo., man underwent experimental stem cell surgery in Europe six months ago in hopes of healing his partially severed spinal cord.

Scott, 23, is a quadriplegic. After the surgery, in which Scott’s own stem cells were harvested from the base of his nose and packed around the injury on the back of his neck, he went to the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery in Detroit. Continue Reading »