NexMed Announces Encouraging Pre-Clinical Results Showing the Ability of the NexACT(R) Technology to Enhance the Bioavailability of rituximab When Administered Subcutaneously

May 17, 2010

BlankMay 10, 2010, 5:19 p.m.

NexMed Announces Encouraging Pre-Clinical Results Showing the Ability of the

NexACT® Technology to Enhance the Bioavailability of rituximab When

Administered Subcutaneously

SAN DIEGO, May 10, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NexMed, Inc. , a specialty CRO with a

pipeline of products based on the NexACT® technology, today announced data

from a pre-clinical study examining the subcutaneous delivery of rituximab, the

first FDA-approved therapeutic antibody for the treatment of cancer in the

United States. The study results showed that animals receiving subcutaneous

injections of rituximab, incorporated with NexACT, demonstrated a 46%

enhancement in bioavailability over rituximab, alone.

Rituximab is a cancer medication that interferes with the development of cancer

cells, slowing their growth and spread in the body. Delivered via intravenous

infusion, rituximab is the active drug in Rituxan®, currently marketed by

Genentech and Biogen IDEC, and prescribed to treat Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL),

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Commenting on today's news, Dr. Bassam Damaj, President and Chief Executive

Officer of NexMed, stated, " The ability of the NexACT technology to successfully

deliver rituximab subcutaneously in a pre-clinical setting may open the door to

improving the delivery of other therapeutic antibodies, which the Company is in

the process of studying. The use of human or humanized monoclonal antibodies,

therapeutically, was a major breakthrough in the field of medicine. If the

NexACT technology can ultimately be shown to lower the amount of antibody

administered while improving the route of delivery and minimizing side effects,

NexACT could potentially revolutionize the use of these drugs in the future. We

look forward to advancing our work in this area and to the further studies that

will be needed to validate these results in humans. "

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