IBT has recruited the first patient in the Phase III pivotal clinical study, The Connection Study. The development program for IBP-9414, of which The Connection Study is the final planned clinical study, has now been agreed with both FDA and EMA. The study is randomized, double blind and placebo controlled to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IBP-9414 with respect to the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis and other clinically important aspects of feeding preterm babies. The study is designed to include 2,158 premature infants with a birth weight of 500-1,500 grams and will be conducted at about 100 hospitals in the US, Europe and Israel. The first patient was recruited on July 4th, and the clinical trial applications have been approved in the United Kingdom, France, Hungary and Spain in addition to the IND that is now open in the United States. This means that IBT expects patients to be included in additional countries in the very near future.