Wuerzburg, Germany – April 19, 2012

vasopharm GmbH, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases, today announces the completion of patient treatment in the phase IIa NOSTRA trial (NO-Synthase inhibition in TRAumatic brain injury).

The NOSTRA trial is a European, multicentre, placebo-controlled, double blind study with safety and tolerability as primary endpoints. The study employed microdialysis to monitor pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of the compound VAS203 a novel allosteric NO-synthase antagonist. In total, 32 patients were enrolled in three cohorts in six study centres in Spain, England, Austria, France and Switzerland. All study centres routinely use microdialysis to monitor energy metabolism, NO household and availability of the drug in the brain tissue. The company expect to complete sample and data analysis by Q3 2012.

About TBI:
Traumatic brain injury is a condition with high unmet medical need, and is the leading cause of death and disability among young adults in the developed world. TBI accounts for more potential years of life lost than cancer and cardiovascular disease combined. Approximately 1.7 million Americans suffer some degree of traumatic brain injury per year, resulting in 52,000 deaths, 275,000 hospitalizations, and 80,000 cases of long-term disability. Not only does TBI lead to great personal suffering and family disruption, but poses a significant burden to society with direct and indirect costs in the United States alone being estimated to exceed $ 6 billion per year.

About vasopharm:
vasopharm is focused on the development of small molecule therapeutics which modulate the bioavailability of biological NO, by addressing the entire NO/cGMP signal cascade and its functional counterpart NOX. vasopharm’s drug candidate VAS203 represents a completely new class of NOS modulators targeting cerebral vessels and cerebral tissue. For VAS203, vasopharm has orphan drug designation for the treatment of moderate and severe TBI in Europe.