SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX), international biotechnology and clinical stage provider of natural products and cell and gene therapy solutions for the treatment of diseases, announced today its subsidiary, Medical Marijuana Sciences, Inc., is planning to develop treatments for pancreatic cancer based on cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa.

In 2006, in a publication in the prestigious scientific journal Cancer Research, cannabinoids were reported to cause the death of pancreatic cells in laboratory and animal studies; these results were also seen with human pancreatic cancer cells implanted in mice whose immune systems were suppressed. Since then, laboratory studies have shown that when gemcitabine (Gemzar(R)), the only drug approved by the FDA as a single agent for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, was combined with three different cannabinoids (each used singly), the growth inhibition was more than additive for six different pancreatic cancer cell lines. When these studies were done with human pancreatic cancer cells in immunosuppressed mice, the antitumor effectiveness of gemcitabine was greatly enhanced. These results, combined with those from other studies not mentioned here, indicate the important potential for developing treatments for pancreatic cancer that include the use of cannabinoids.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth deadliest form of cancer worldwide. In 2013, it is estimated that more than 45,000 people in the US alone will be newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and that more than 38,000 people will die from this disease (Cancer Facts & Figures 2013 --American Cancer Society). Pancreatic cancer is extremely hard to detect; it does not show symptoms until it is at an advanced stage and, to date, treatments have only been marginally effective. The median survival of those with advanced, inoperable, pancreatic cancer is given in terms of weeks or months, not years.

Gemzar(R) was approved on the basis that it increased median survival of patients by a mere 1.6 months over the best previously available treatment -- this illustrates dramatically the difficulty in treating this form of cancer successfully. Several drugs have been combined with gemcitabine in an effort to improve survival rates, but they have only increased survival by a few months, if at all. Accordingly, there is a great need for the development of new treatments for this devastating form of cancer.

"The development of treatments for pancreatic cancer that include cannabinoids is an obvious avenue for Nuvilex to follow because of our interest in this difficult-to-treat cancer in addition to our understanding of both the cancer biology and the drug chemistry," noted Dr. Gerald Crabtree, COO. He continued, "We are already working in the pancreatic cancer area with the Company's treatment for advanced, inoperable, disease (currently being readied for late-phase clinical trials) that involves our unique, living cell encapsulation technology. Thus, a significant portion of Nuvilex's efforts will be devoted to developing novel, effective treatments against pancreatic cancer."

About Nuvilex

Nuvilex, Inc. (NVLX) has been a provider of all-natural products for many years. The company has been expanded to increase its natural product-based footprint through medical marijuana studies. We are an international biotechnology provider of live, therapeutically valuable, encapsulated cells and services for research and medicine. New developments by our company and subsidiaries will be substantial as we have been working on many fronts to move us forward. Our company's offerings will ultimately include cancer, diabetes and other treatments using the Company's natural product knowledge, product base, cell and gene therapy expertise, and live-cell encapsulation technology in addition to other new products currently under development.

The Nuvilex, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13494

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements described within the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act involving risks and uncertainties including product demand, market competition, and meeting current or future plans which may cause actual results, events, and performances, expressed or implied, to vary and/or differ from those contemplated or predicted. Investors should study and understand all risks before making an investment decision. Readers are recommended not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Nuvilex is not obliged to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statement, reflect events or circumstances afterward, or disclose unanticipated occurrences, except as required under applicable laws.

Read more:
Nuvilex Reports Cannabinoid-Based Pancreatic Cancer Treatments to be Developed by Its Subsidiary, Medical Marijuana ...

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