Healthcare Industry News:  Eloxatin 

Biopharmaceuticals

 News Release - September 3, 2008

Access Pharmaceuticals Retains Piper Jaffray to Augment Strategic Partnering Efforts

DALLAS, Sept. 3 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP ) announced today that it had retained Piper Jaffray to augment ongoing business development efforts with the goal of establishing additional strategic development and commercialization partnerships for Access' extensive product pipeline and multiple technology platforms. The Piper Jaffray healthcare investment banking team will focus on partnering opportunities for ProLindac, Angiolix and the Cobalamin programs.


"Access has a very deep pipeline of products and technologies, and working with the experienced Piper Jaffray team will augment our ongoing activities and accelerate our efforts on a global basis," stated Jeffrey B. Davis, President & CEO. "Identifying and securing strong development and commercialization partnerships, as we've done this past year with Jiangsu Aosaikang Pharmaceuticals for ProLindac and SpePharm Holding, B.V., Milestone Biosciences, LLC and RHEI Pharmaceuticals for MuGard, is critical to our corporate strategy. It enhances our ability to push forth products in the clinic, while continuing to aggressively pursue our multiple-shots-on-goal strategy which we believe leads to enhanced shareholder value."

About ProLindac(TM):

ProLindac is a novel DACH platinum prodrug which has been shown to be active in a wide variety of solid tumors in both preclinical models and in human trials. Access believes that ProLindac's unique molecular design potentially could eliminate some of the toxic side effects seen in the currently marketed DACH platinum, Eloxatin, which has sales in excess of $2 billion.

About Access:

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access' products include ProLindac(TM), currently in Phase 2 clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer, and MuGard(TM) for the management of patients with mucositis. The company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including Cobalamin(TM)--mediated targeted delivery and oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism; Angiolix®, a humanized monoclonal antibody which acts as an anti-angiogenesis factor and is targeted to breast cancer; and Prodrax®, a non-toxic prodrug which is activated in the hypoxic zones of solid tumors to kill cancer cells. Access is also developing Phenylbutyrate ("PB"), an HDAC inhibitor and differentiating agent currently a Phase 2 clinical candidate. For additional information on Access Pharmaceuticals, please visit our website at http://www.accesspharma.com.

About MacroChem:

On July 10, 2008, Access announced it had signed a definitive merger agreement for Access to acquire MacroChem; it is anticipated that this acquisition will close in the third quarter of 2008. MacroChem is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and seeks to commercialize pharmaceutical products. Product candidates in our clinical development portfolio are: pexiganan, EcoNail® and SR9025 which was recently acquired. Pexiganan, a novel topical anti-infective for the treatment of diabetic foot infection, was recently in-licensed and has already completed two Phase 3 trials. EcoNail is a topically applied SEPA-based econazole lacquer for the treatment of onychomycosis, a condition commonly known as nail fungus. SR9025 is a new generation nucleoside analog which has demonstrated both pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers.

On April 23, 2008, MacroChem announced it acquired Virium Pharmaceuticals Inc. Virium was a non-public, development stage company whose business is developing and commercializing novel therapeutics with a focus in oncology. By acquiring Virium, the Company has in-licensed a group of product candidates targeted for development and commercialization in several oncology or oncology-related indications. These opportunities involve compounds that Virium believes show promising late-stage, pre-clinical or early clinical data.

This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include those relating to: our ability to close the financing transaction, early results from our clinical trial, Access' plans to continue and initiate clinical trials, the value of its products in the market, its ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and its ability to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited Access' need to obtain additional financing in order to continue the clinical trial and operations and to the risks detailed in Access' Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Access with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



Source: Access Pharmaceuticals

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