VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - June 20, 2006) - EnWave Corporation ("EnWave" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:ENW)(FWB:E4U) reports that researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia have presented encouraging data at a recent workshop entitled "Canadian Arthritis Network Bioengineering for the Restoration of Joint Function".
Chiming Yang and Dr. Helen Burt are conducting experiments to create porous bone material using EnWave's Radiant-Energy Vacuum (REV) technology, and have obtained a number of promising results. In a paper entitled "Biodegradable Porous Composite for Drug and Cell Delivery in Orthopaedic Medicine", the researchers reported that they successfully encapsulated a growth hormone and an anti-microbial drug into polymer microspheres. These microspheres can then be dispersed into a porous biological material to serve as a bone scaffold on which to seed and grow stem cells.
The resulting product could eventually lead to materials for use in orthopaedic surgeries to encourage the body's own growth of bone and soft tissue. If successful, surgery using this material would greatly reduce the possibility of infection and promote the growth of healthy bone. One example application for this material is in revision hip surgeries.
EnWave signed a collaborative research agreement with Dr. Helen Burt, Angiotech Professor of Drug Delivery, in February, 2005 to use the REV machine to create porous materials for use as bone scaffolds.
Dr. Tim Durance, President of EnWave, said that "the use of REV in creating new scaffolds for the delivery of drugs and stem cells into the body is an exciting application of our technology. The fact that these researchers have reported such early success is very encouraging."
Dr. Helen Burt agrees that "this is an exciting, early result, from our on-going experiments, and we will continue along these lines of enquiry into the next stages of technology development."
EnWave is a spin-off company from the University of British Columbia. Originally created to commercialize our Vacuum Microwave ("VM") food dehydration technology in 1997, we have discovered that a refinement of this technology, Radiant-Energy Vacuum, or "REV", can be used to form biological materials for medical applications. Through our collaboration with researchers at UBC and elsewhere, we are developing a number of promising new applications in the fields of bone and tissue engineering, drug delivery, nutraceuticals and veterinary medicine.
EnWave Corporation
Dr. Tim Durance, President, and C.E.O.
Safe Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This release may contain forward-looking information based on management's expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "promising results", "encouraging", "early results" and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to: the fact that the REV technology is unproven for this applications; the fact that the results disclosed in this news release are initial results only, were obtained under laboratory conditions and no testing has been done to replicate the results on a commercial basis; significant further testing is required before the results disclosed can be positively confirmed; further testing, development and regulatory approvals will be required before the Company could derive any economic benefit from the results; there is no guarantee that the Company's REV technology can or will be used to develop materials for orthopaedic surgeries; even if the Company's REV technology can be used as described in this news release, there is no guarantee that such use will result in orders for the Company's REV technology; changes in technology may render the Company's equipment offerings obsolete; changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the Company does business or intends to do business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw material, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; and seasonality of sales in some products. The Company has made certain assumptions in this news release, including the assumption that drug activities that according to laboratory tests appear to be retained in material created by the REV technology, can ultimately be shown to be effective and safe in humans.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
EnWave Corporation
Dr. Tim Durance
President
(604) 806-6110
(604) 806-6112 (FAX)
www.enwave.net
