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Russian Patent Office Provides Notification of Intention to Grant Hythiam Patent for Treatment of Cocaine Dependence
Monday, November 05, 2007
Los Angeles, CA -- Hythiam, Inc. (Nasdaq: HYTM) today announced that the Russian Patent Office has informed Hythiam of their decision to grant Hythiam’s patent for the use of a composition of matter for the treatment of cocaine dependency. The patent will serve to enhance protection of the intellectual property underlying the company’s PROMETA® Treatment Program for cocaine dependence and follows the granting of cocaine patents in other major markets over the past 12 months, including the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Korea. The Russian Patent Office granted Hythiam a similar patent for the treatment of alcohol dependency in 2006.
Drug use exploded in Russia after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, and in 2005 the head of the Moscow section of the Federal Narcotics Service, Viktor Khvorostyan, cited that some 4% of Russians, or 6 million people, were addicts, indicating that the problem had reached catastrophic proportions. According to Federal Narcotics Service figures at that time, drug overdoses killed some 70,000 Russians annually, or close to 200 people per day.
"Our intellectual property portfolio continues to grow in strength and value," said Terren Peizer, Hythiam’s Chairman and CEO. "Addiction is a global problem and Russia is one of the world’s largest emerging economies. By securing our patent rights throughout the world, we stand ready to capture the commercial benefit on behalf of our shareholders."
Hythiam continues to file new intellectual property worldwide, and to date has received notifications of allowance or grants for inventions underlying its PROMETA Treatment Program from over 28 countries including the U.S. and 19 European nations.
About the PROMETA® Treatment Program
Hythiam's PROMETA® Treatment Program is designed for use by healthcare providers seeking to treat individuals diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine, as well as combinations of these drugs. The PROMETA® Treatment Program includes nutritional supplements, FDA-approved oral and IV medications used off-label and separately administered in a unique dosing algorithm, as well as psychosocial or other recovery-oriented therapy chosen by the patient and his or her treatment provider. As a result, PROMETA® represents an innovative approach to managing alcohol, cocaine, or methamphetamine dependence that is designed to address physiological, nutritional, and psychosocial aspects of the disease, and is thereby intended to offer patients an opportunity to achieve sustained recovery. To learn more, please visit www.prometainfo.com.
About Hythiam, Inc.
Hythiam, Inc. provides behavioral health management services to health plans, employers, criminal justice, and government agencies through a network of licensed and company managed providers. The company approaches the management of behavioral health disorders with a focus on using the latest medical and health technology towards improved outcomes and out-patient treatment. Hythiam also researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative and proprietary physiological, nutritional, and behavioral treatment programs. Hythiam offers disease management for substance dependence built around its proprietary PROMETA® Treatment Program for alcoholism and dependence to stimulants. The PROMETA® Treatment Program, which integrates behavioral, nutritional, and medical components, is available through both licensed treatment providers and company managed PROMETA® Centers. Hythiam does not practice medicine or manufacture, distribute, or sell any medications and has no relationship with any manufacturers or distributors of medications used in the PROMETA® Treatment Program. For further information, please visit www.hythiam.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history and lack of statistically significant formal research studies, the risk that treatment programs might not be effective, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, intense competition and substantial regulation in the healthcare industry; and additional risk factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.
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