CTRC and OncoVista Announce Initiation of Collaboration on Clinical Development of OVI-117

Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center and OncoVista Innovative Therapies, Inc. Announce the Initiation of Collaboration on the Clinical Development of OVI-117

San Antonio, TX, --- April 7, 2009 – OncoVista Innovative Therapies, Inc. (“OncoVista”) (OTC BB: OVIT.OB) and the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, (CTRC at UTHSCSA) announced that the CTRC’s Institute for Drug Development will collaborate on early phase studies of OncoVista’s OVI-117, an L-nucleoside conjugate of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP), an analog of 5-FU, in various solid tumor cancer indications. This work is in addition to a Phase I/II Study of Cordycepin plus Pentostatin in Patients with Refractory TdT-Positive Leukemia, sponsored by OncoVista that is currently underway at the CTRC.

“As an NCI-designated cancer center, we are dedicated to helping develop novel approaches that are likely to significantly improve the prognosis of patients with malignant diseases,” said Dr. Frank Giles, Deputy Director of the CTRC at UTHSCSA. “As Director of our Institute for Drug Development (IDD), I am pleased to specifically dedicate IDD resources toward the further rapid investigation of OVI-117.”


“We are excited that our leading Drug Development Institute in San Antonio will conduct the Phase I clinical trials for OVI-117,” said Dr. Alex Weis, Chief Executive Officer of OncoVista. “This collaboration will explore the utility of OVI-117 in the treatment of solid tumors and its potential for further development as a highly efficacious and safe drug.”

 

About OncoVista Innovative Therapies, Inc.

OncoVista is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of targeted cancer therapies which are more efficacious and less toxic. For further information about OncoVista, please visit www.oncovista.com


 About CTRC at UTHSCSA


The CTRC at the UT Health Science Center serves more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of South and Central Texas, including San Antonio, Austin, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. It handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year. The mission of the CTRC at the UT Health Science Center is to promote interdisciplinary research in cancer-related areas of basic science, clinical research, and cancer prevention and control, and to foster the application of the results of that research in the community setting, especially in the South Texas community. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical research studies program in the world. In a Phase I research study, a new agent for cancer is tested in human patients for the first time. Fifteen of the cancer drugs most recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration underwent development or testing at the IDD.



This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements, including the Company’s expectations related to the CTRC at UTHSCSA-sponsored trials, and the Company’s belief as to the potential of OVI-117 as a cancer therapeutic, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the availability of funds and resources to pursue research and development projects, the efficacy of OVI-117 as a cancer treatment, the tolerability of OVI-117 outside a controlled test, the success and timely completion of clinical studies and trials, the Company’s ability to successfully commercialize OVI-117, uncertainties related to the research and development of pharmaceuticals and uncertainties related to the regulatory process. Investors should consult the Company’s quarterly and annual filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward looking statements. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Information about CTRC at the UT Health Science Center was provided by CTRC. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.