Local medical firm tackles rare diseases
By Melissa Evans, Staff Writer, Daily Breeze.com
(Article Launched: 07/04/2008 11:19:46 PM PDT)

(Link to Original Article at The Daily Breeze)
After years of clinical trials and research, Dr. Yutaka Niihara came up with a treatment for sickle cell anemia that was so simple he almost didn't believe it.

L-glutamine, one of the most common amino acids produced in the body and found abundantly in protein-rich foods, bloated the sickle-shaped cells that cause immense pain for thousands of people who suffer from the disease.

"It's such a simple and safe treatment," said Niihara, who made the discovery while working as an investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute near Torrance in the late 1990s. "There are virtually no side effects."

Making medical discoveries, however, and getting treatments to the public are typically separated by years - a reality Niihara is grappling with at his Torrance-based pharmaceutical company, Emmaus Medical, Inc.

Read the Entire Story at Daily Breeze.com

Emmaus Medical, Inc. Enters Into Sub-License Agreement for Treatment of Short Bowel Syndrome...
(Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:35pm EST)

(Link to Original Article at © Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved)
Emmaus Medical, Inc. Enters Into Sub-License Agreement for Treatment of Short Bowel Syndrome Torrance-based firm will introduce NutreStore(TM) in spring 2008

TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmaus Medical, Inc., a Torrance, California based pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive sublicense agreement with Cato BioVentures of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina for the patent protected drug NutreStore(TM) brand L-glutamine. Under this agreement, Emmaus will commercialize NutreStore(TM), which is approved by the FDA for use in combination with human growth hormone as a treatment for short bowel syndrome (SBS). Emmaus will be introducing NutreStore(TM) in the spring of 2008 and projects that its sales will greatly contribute to its short and long term financial performance of the company.

Read the Entire Story at Thomson Reuters.com