New Patent Covering PROLOR's Reversible-Pegylation Platform Technology is Allowed by U.S. Patent Office

NES-ZIONA, Israel, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PROLOR Biotech, Inc. (NYSE MKT: PBTH) today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice of allowance for a patent application covering the company's long-acting reversible-pegylation technology (RPeg).  Upon issuance, the new patent will provide added intellectual property protection, including additional compositions and configurations of long-acting drug product, in addition to the already-issued U.S. patent covering the RPeg platform.  PROLOR licensed the RPEG technology platform from Yeda R&D Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.  The company expects this new U.S. patent will be issued in the next few months.

PROLOR is using its RPeg technology to develop long-acting therapeutic peptides and small molecules.  RPeg's expected key competitive advantage is its unique ability to enable development of long-acting drugs that target the brain and must therefore be able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.  The RPeg technology has been shown in animal models to significantly enhance the half-life and improve the biological activity of a variety of peptides and small molecules, including compounds that need to cross the blood-brain barrier, such as the appetite suppressant peptide PYY, PROLOR's GLP-1/Glucagon dual receptor agonist MOD-6030 in development for obesity and type 2 diabetes, and the diabetes-related compound exendin-4, the blood pressure controlling hormone ANP and the intravenous antibiotic drug gentamicin.

ABOUT PROLOR
PROLOR Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company applying unique technologies, including patented CTP technology and its long-acting reversible-pegylation technology, primarily to develop longer-acting proprietary versions of already approved therapeutic proteins that currently generate billions of dollars in annual global sales.  The CTP technology is applicable to virtually all proteins.  PROLOR is developing a long-acting version of human growth hormone, which successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial.  It also is developing long-acting versions of Factor VIIa and Factor IX for hemophilia and a GLP-1/Glucagon dual receptor agonist peptide for diabetes and obesity, all of which are in preclinical development.  For more information, visit http://www.prolor-biotech.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:  This press release contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "would", "intends," "estimates," "suggests," "has the potential to" and other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding the results of current clinical studies and preclinical experiments and the effectiveness of PROLOR's long-acting protein programs, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may affect PROLOR's business and prospects, including the risks that PROLOR may not succeed in generating any revenues or developing any commercial products, including any long-acting versions of human growth hormone, erythropoietin, interferon beta, GLP-1 and other products; that the long-acting products in development may fail, may not achieve the expected results or effectiveness and/or may not generate data that would support the approval or marketing of these products for the indications being studied or for other indications; that ongoing studies may not continue to show substantial or any activity; that the actual dollar amount of any grants from Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist is uncertain and is subject to policy changes of the Israeli government, and that such grants may be insufficient to assist with product development; and other risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The results of clinical trials in humans may produce results that differ significantly from the results of clinical and other trials in animals. The results of early-stage trials may differ significantly from the results of more developed, later-stage trials. The development of any products using the CTP platform technology could also be affected by a number of other factors, including unexpected safety, efficacy or manufacturing issues, additional time requirements for data analyses and decision making, the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation, the impact of competitive products and pricing and the impact of patents and other proprietary rights held by competitors and other third parties.  In addition to the risk factors described above, investors should consider the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors discussed in PROLOR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE PROLOR Biotech, Inc.