Star Scientific completes Research and Royalty Agreement with SRQ Bio

Apr 8 2010

Star Scientific (Nasdaq: CIGX) announced today that it has completed a "Research and Royalty Agreement" with the Roskamp Institute's affiliate, SRQ Bio, LLC, under which the Institute will conduct research on a compound developed by the company's Rock Creek Pharmaceutical subsidiary that medical researchers at the Institute believe may have an application in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.  Preliminary testing of the compound has produced promising results when applied to cells, and the compound is being explored further for its application to treat a variety of neurological conditions, including Alzheimer's.  Preliminary tests performed by the Roskamp Institute show that when the compound developed by Rock Creek is applied to cells, B-amyloid is reduced.  Also, the compound appears to encourage new neuronal cell growth.  Results in cells do not necessarily translate to human testing, and additional work needs to be completed to determine whether the compound will have significant B-amyloid lowering effects in humans.  There are now 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer's and every 70 seconds, someone in America develops Alzheimer's disease.  In 2010, there will be approximately 500,000 new cases per year.  Tragically, Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in our country.  From 2000-2006, deaths from Alzheimer's rose 47.1%.  

Paul L. Perito, Rock Creek's Chairman & CEO, commented that "Jonnie R Williams' decade-long search for innovative ways to reduce tobacco-related harm fortuitously led to a discovery of a compound that respected and knowledgeable medical researchers at Roskamp Institute believe could play a major role in addressing a variety of neurological conditions including Alzheimer's disease, which has been the primary focus of Roskamp Institute since its formation."

In light of the execution of a detailed Research and Royalty Agreement, Rock Creek anticipates a close collaboration between Michael Mullan, MD, PhD and Fiona Crawford, PhD, Co-Directors of the Roskamp Institute, with Rock Creek's Senior Medical and Scientific Director, Curtis Wright, IV, MD, MPH, former Acting Director, as well as Deputy Director of the Division of Anesthetics, Analgesics, Drug Abuse at FDA.

The Roskamp Institute, based in Sarasota, Florida, utilizes a broad range of scientific approaches to discover novel and effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Previous work of institute researchers Michael Mullan, MD, PhD and Fiona Crawford, PhD, who now head the Institute, has shown that certain genetic variations may cause or predispose humans to Alzheimer's disease, and these genetic variations have given scientists clues about the Alzheimer's disease process.  In particular, these studies led to the identification of a small protein called B-amyloid.  As central to the disease process, B-amyloid accumulates in all cases of Alzheimer's disease and, as it does so, neurons are damaged leading to their malfunction, which is reflected as memory loss and other cognitive changes.  The process, once begun, is naturally relentless, but much evidence suggests that if B-amyloid could be prevented from accumulating the disease would be halted.  The goal of the collaboration is to work as fast as possible to bring to market the first product capable of halting Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.  

In March 2010, Robert Roskamp in an individual capacity purchased shares of Star Scientific stock valued at $1 million, and was issued a matching warrant for an equal number of shares, as part of a private placement transaction.  Under the Research and Royalty Agreement announced today, the company has agreed to issue to SRQ Bio, LLC 100,000 shares of common stock in a private placement.