Scientists Pinpoint Structure on Estrogen
That Blocks Nerve Cell Damage Discovery
Opens Way to Designing Non-Feminizing,
Estrogen-Like Drugs For Alzheimer`s
Disease, Stroke and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases

December 18, 1997

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. -- Apollo
BioPharmaceutics, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) today announced that scientists at
the University of Florida School of Pharmacy (Gainesville, Fla.) and
scientists at Apollo have discovered a specific structure on the estrogen
molecule responsible for estrogen's ability to protect nerve cells from
death. The estrogen structure study was published in the December 19th issue
(Vol. 63, number 4-6, pgs.229-235) of The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology.

"This is an important discovery," said Katherine Gordon, Ph.D., chief
executive officer of Apollo and one of the study's authors. "We now know
that estrogen's potency and neuroprotective activity come from different
parts of the estrogen molecule. This means we should be able to design drugs
for Alzheimer's disease and stroke that protect against nerve cell death but
do not produce hormonal 'feminizing' side effects."

Previously, several studies have shown that postmenopausal women taking
estrogen have a lower incidence and significantly later onset of Alzheimer's
disease than women who do not take estrogen. Estrogens also have been found,
in some studies, to reduce the death rate from stroke.

In laboratory tests, the research team found that the neuroprotective
effects of estrogens reside on the "phenolic A ring" of the four-ring
estrogen molecule. Even certain "weak" estrogens with little or no hormonal
activity had a strong neuroprotective effect, leading the authors to state
that the "study provides evidence for the dissociation of the estrogenic
potency of steroids and their neuroprotectivity."

Twenty-two estrogen-like compounds and steroids were tested for their
ability to block damage in a cultured cell line when it was deprived of
essential nutrients. Estrogenic activity of the compounds was measured in
other, earlier studies using estrogen receptor binding assays. The results,
the authors wrote, suggest "that the neuroprotectivity of these compounds is
not mediated primarily through the nuclear estrogen receptor."

According to the Alzheimer's Association 4 million Americans have
Alzheimer's disease. That number is projected to reach 14 million by the
middle of the next century. The National Stroke Association reports that
550,000 Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke each year. Stroke is
the third leading cause of death in the United States.

Apollo BioPharmaceutics, a privately held company founded in 1992, is
pioneering the development of estrogen and estrogen-like neuroprotective
drugs. Apollo holds the rights to key intellectual property covering the use
of estrogenic compounds in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The
company has several estrogen-related compounds in development, including one
which uses an implantable sustained-release formulation. A test which
predicts how well an individual will respond to estrogen therapy is also in
development.

SOURCE Apollo BioPharmaceutics, Inc.

/CONTACT: Katherine Gordon, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Apollo
BioPharmaceutics, Inc., 617-621-7154 or Douglas Johnson, Ph.D. of GreenTree
Communications, 800-428-8796, [log in to unmask]