COPENHAGEN, February 5 /PRNewswire/ -- New guidelines published by the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) offer a practical guide to extravasation management and recommend Savene(R) (dexrazoxane) as the only approved therapy in the treatment of this condition.

The guidelines, based on existing literature, will form a web-based toolkit available to oncology nurses to provide them with clear and practical guidance on the management of extravasation as well as advice on how to implement the guidelines in clinical practice.

The guidelines state that the evidence supporting Savene(R), a treatment for the management of anthracycline extravasation, is changing the way that anthracycline extravasation is managed. Savene(R) is the only licensed antidote to counteract this condition.(1)

Anthracycline extravasation can be a debilitating and disfiguring condition.(2) It is caused by the leaking of fluids, used in chemotherapy treatment, from the blood vessels into surrounding tissue, which can lead to severe and permanent disability.(3) Anthracycline extravasation is a relatively uncommon event estimated to occur in 0.1% to 1.0% of all anthracycline treatments.(4) However, it is a serious condition requiring immediate attention from those involved in administering intravenous chemotherapy.

"The new guidelines and accompanying tools will support improvement of how health care professionals manage extravasations and aid the enhancement of the standard of care in cancer therapy" commented Yvonne Wengström, Head of the task force involved in developing the guidelines.

The new guidelines will be officially launched at a satellite symposium during the EONS Spring Convention in Geneva on March 28 2008 and are currently available for download from the EONS website.

References

1) European Oncology Nurses Society http://www.cancerworld.org/CancerWorld/moduleStaticPage.aspx?id=3891&id_... (accessed January 2008)

2) Langer SW. Dexrazoxane for anthracycline extravasation. Anticancer Therapy 2007; 7(8): 1081-1088.

3)Langer SW, Jensen PB, Sehested M. Other uses of dexrazoxane: savene, the first proven antidote against anthracycline extravasation injuries. Cardiovasc Toxicol 2007; 7: 151-153.

4) Buter J. Savene (dexrazoxane): an effective nonsurgical treatment for anthracycline extravasation. Hospital Pharmacy Europe 2007; 33: 38-9.

Background information

About EONS

The European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) is dedicated to developing, enhancing and promoting cancer nursing in Europe through educational, research, and practice based initiatives. EONS is mainly focussed on meeting the needs of nurses who routinely provide care for patients with cancer.

EONS is comprised of individual cancer nurses, national oncology nursing societies and institutions involved in cancer care which in turn represent approximately 22000 nurses in 30 European countries.

About Savene(R)

Savene(R) is a catalytic inhibitor of Topoisomerase II, an enzyme found in the cell nucleus. Topoisomerase enzymes are essential for cell growth and proliferation and the target for a group of anti-cancer chemotherapeutics called anthracyclines.

Savene(R) blocks the activity of the topoisomerase enzyme and prevents the effect of anthracyclines.

Savene(R) is used as a detoxifying agent, administered intravenously as an antidote following an extravasation; a serious clinical accident in which anthracyclines accidentally leak into surrounding tissue. The high concentration of drug causes severe and cumulative damage to the skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and nerves. Current treatment often involves surgical removal of the tissue followed by plastic surgery and rehabilitation. The use of Savene(R) (dexrazoxane) to treat anthracycline extravasation is protected by patent in severalcountries including EU and the US. Savene(R) is being marketed in the US under the tradename Totect(TM) and produced by TopoTarget (OMX: TOPO) a biotech company, headquartered in Denmark. TopoTarget subsidiaries are in the US, Switzerland, Germany and the UK, they are dedicated to finding "Answers for Cancer" and developing improved cancer therapies.

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This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about our expectations of the progression of our preclinical and clinical pipeline including the timing for commencement and completion of clinical trials and with respect to cash burn guidance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. TopoTarget cautions investors that there can be no assurance that actual results or business conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the following: The risk that any one or more of the drug development programs of TopoTarget will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons or due to patient enrolment issues or based on new information from non-clinical or clinical studies or from other sources; the success of competing products and technologies; technological uncertainty and product development risks; uncertainty of additional funding; TopoTarget's history of incurring losses and the uncertainty of achieving profitability; TopoTarget's stage of development as a biopharmaceutical company; government regulation; patent infringement claims against TopoTarget's products, processes and technologies; the ability to protect TopoTarget's patents and proprietary rights; uncertainties relating to commercialization rights; and product liability expo-sure; We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law.

For further information, please contact: Danielle Cohen International Product Manager, TopoTarget A/S Telephone:+45-39-17-94-65 Email: dco@topotarget.com Claire Woods Red Door Communications Telephone: +44-20-8392-6925 Email: cwoods@rdcomms.com

For further information, please contact: Danielle Cohen, International Product Manager, TopoTarget A/S, Telephone: +45-39-17-94-65, Email: dco@topotarget.com; Claire Woods, Red Door Communications, Telephone: +44-20-8392-6925, Email: cwoods@rdcomms.com