NSTK Nastech Pharmaceutical Company (MM)

BOTHELL, Wash., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTK) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. patent application No. 10/976,942, entitled "Phage Displayed Trp Cage Ligands." The patent application has claims that relate to a novel, high-throughput method for identifying peptides which can bind to specific cell types. "A major obstacle in the development of safe and effective medicines today is the inability to target the therapeutic directly to the cells of interest," stated Steven C. Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Nastech. "The technology of this allowed patent provides Nastech with a process for rapidly identifying peptides that target specific cells. These targeting peptides can then be combined with therapeutics to enhance overall delivery and overcome this key challenge in drug development." Nastech published in the March, 2007 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry results that demonstrate the use of a proprietary phage display library to screen protein to protein interactions and protein-DNA interactions. Using this library Nastech can select peptides that are able to target specific cell types. These peptides can then be used to enhance the targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules and diagnostic agents. About Nastech Nastech is a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products based on proprietary molecular biology-based drug delivery technologies. Nastech is creating technologies that enable the delivery of peptide and protein therapeutics without the requirement of an injection, which is currently the most common form of administration for this class of drugs. Nastech has also established a wholly-owned subsidiary, MDRNA, Inc., to focus on developing RNA-based technologies and therapeutics. MDRNA is harnessing the power of RNA interference, a cellular mechanism that can turn off the production of a specific protein through use of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), to develop a new class of therapeutics by identifying key protein targets, designing the siRNAs that will turn off the production of the targeted proteins, and creating a formulation for the delivery of the therapeutics. Nastech and its collaboration partners are developing products for multiple therapeutic areas including osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, autism, respiratory diseases and inflammatory conditions. For additional information about Nastech please visit http://www.nastech.com/. Nastech Forward Looking Statements Statements made in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of Nastech or a subsidiary to obtain additional funding; (ii) the ability of Nastech or a subsidiary to attract and/or maintain manufacturing, research, development and commercialization partners; (iii) the ability of Nastech, a subsidiary and/or a partner to successfully complete product research and development, including preclinical and clinical studies and commercialization; (iv) the ability of Nastech, a subsidiary and/or a partner to obtain required governmental approvals; and (v) the ability of Nastech, a subsidiary and/or a partner to develop and commercialize products that can compete favorably with those of competitors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in Nastech's most recent periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nastech assumes no obligation to update and supplement forward-looking statements because of subsequent events. Contacts: Nastech Ed Bell Director, Investor Relations (425) 908-3639 Russo Partners, LLC David Schull (Media) (212) 845-4271 DATASOURCE: Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. CONTACT: Ed Bell, Director, Investor Relations of Nastech, +1-425-908-3639, ; or David Schull, Media, of Russo Partners, LLC for Nastech, +1-212-845-4271 Web site: http://www.nastech.com/

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