Dr. Jeffrey Olson MD to head up Canadian Bio Med Systems Inc., as new Chairman

NEW YORK, MONTREAL, SAN DIEGO, April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Canadian Bio Med Systems Inc., a subsidiary of ICBS Ltd., (OTCPK: ICBT), and Ocular Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego California, announced today that Dr Jeffrey L. Olson, M.D. of the University of Colorado has been appointed Chairman of Canadian Bio Med Systems Inc.

Dr. Olson a retinal surgeon is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology , the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and The American Society of Retinal Specialists. Dr. Olson has published numerous scientific papers and has been awarded grants from the National Institute of Health . Dr. Olson has participated in both pre-clinical and clinical studies for important retinal compounds.

Commenting on the Clinical Panel member, Dr. George Tsoukas, Medical Director (CBMS), says "Dr. Olson is the perfect person to help direct our efforts in solving the problems of Age-related Macular degeneration, and Glaucoma. His experience with other projects such as this can help avoid pitfalls and speed this product to market successfully."

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness, worldwide, for people over 55 years of age. The incidence of AMD in persons aged 55 is 1% and increases to 15% for persons aged 80. This debilitating disease has proven to be difficult to treat and only a very few drugs have been developed which have positive effects.

The drug under development by Canadian Bio Med Systems , has a very different mode of action than the current therapeutic products. It can be used alone or in conjunction with these currently available products.

The product under development by CBMS, LD22-4 has the advantage of being a very small molecule meaning that fewer treatments will be needed compared to current therapies, This will help reduce the pain and frequency of injection to the patient and potentially the cost of the treatment.

Canadian Bio Med is developing the new product in Montreal in conjunction with its partner, Ocular Therapeutics Inc. of San Diego, California. The drug is moving toward human clinical trials in Canada and the United States next year.

The market for products treating AMD has been estimated at over $750 million annually and growing at a rate of over 10% yearly as the population ages.

Canadian Bio Med Systems Inc., and Ocular Therapeutics Inc. of San Diego California, has acquired the licensing rights to two new potentially revolutionary drugs in the billion dollar ophthalmic arena .

The drug for the treatment of glaucoma is being developed by Daniel Stamer, PhD and Ronald Heimark, PhD at the University of Arizona. Glaucoma is a prevalent eye disease is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. Patient compliance is a serious problem in glaucoma because of the frequency which conventional medication is required. The new drug being developed may change the paradigm of glaucoma therapy.

Eugene Levin, PhD at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California is developing the new drug for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The protein in this compound is derived from a larger, naturally occurring human protein which will be used to control dangerous vessel growth in the retina at the very back of the eye. The new drug being developed is a much smaller protein than other AMD drugs being used today which means it may be used less frequently.

NB. This news release includes statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Please be aware that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve significant risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may vary materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of any number of factors, including the risk factors contained in the Company's disclosure documents.

SOURCE Inter Canadian Business Service