Discovery could help doctors decide which patients would benefit
most
MESA, Ariz. - March 8, 2011 - Predictive Biomarker Sciences
(PBS-Bio) has uncovered how the experimental drug UNBS1450,
produced by Unibioscreen, kills cancer cells.
Previous studies have shown that over-activity of a gene known as
MCL1 can cause cancer cells to grow out of control. PBS-Bio, which
is owned in part by the non-profit, Phoenix-based Translational
Genomics Research Institute (TGen), co-discovered that UNBS1450
effectively shuts off the gene and induces apoptosis, the cancer
cell's normal process of cellular death.
"It's a very nice candidate drug," said Dr. Michael Bittner, a
biologist and Principal Investigator of the PBS-Bio technology. Dr.
Bittner said UNBS1450 is effective against MCL1 in very low
dosages, which means it could potentially be delivered to patients
with minimal side effects and low toxicity. MCL1 is prevalent in
leukemia, non-small-cell lung cancer, as well as cancers of the
prostate and pancreas.
"The presence of MCL1 can be used as a stratification, or
predictive, biomarker to help determine which cancer patients are
most likely to respond to UNBS1450," said Dr. Edward Smith,
co-founder and CEO of PBS-Bio. This would be particularly
beneficial, Dr. Smith said, in selecting patients to participate in
clinical trials of UNBS1450, and ultimately in helping physicians
decide who should be placed on the drug once it is approved for
general use.
Steve Weitman, Chief Medical Officer for Unibioscreen, based in
Brussels, Belgium, said Unibioscreen has high hopes for the drug
UNBS1450.
"Thanks to the critical assistance we received from PBS-Bio, we at
Unibioscreen feel confident now that we have a potential biomarker
that can be used to facilitate the development of UNBS1450,"
Weitman said.
In October, Unibioscreen announced it had entered into an agreement
with PBS-Bio to get a more in depth understanding of the mechanisms
involved in UNBS1450 as a means of optimizing cancer-patient
treatment.
To jump-start drug development, PBS-Bio's analysis helps
pharmaceutical companies better understand how their drugs work,
and identifies biomarkers that can help predict which patients will
respond to treatment.
PBS-Bio is providing drug companies with unique real-time looks at
how new therapeutics actually work over time within cellular
pathways - the so-called mechanisms of action.
UNBS1450 has been in Phase I clinical trials at hospitals in
Belgium and the Netherlands. The drug is a hemi-synthetic
derivative of a compound identified by Unibioscreen in the root
bark of a plant called Calotropis procera. Pre-clinical tests
showed that UNBS1450 is very effective against various tumor types
with no adverse side effects.
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About Unibioscreen
Unibioscreen is a Belgian private specialist oncology company with
focus on innovative "first in class" oncology therapeutics.
Unibioscreen has successfully discovered, patented and developed a
drug candidate currently in clinical trials in cancer
patients.
Unibioscreen built its competitive edge on exploiting through
hemi-synthesis the structure activity relationship (SAR) of natural
product chemistry and through development and use of unique
technologies and demanding orthotopic models of cancer.
More information is available on: www.unibioscreen.com.
Press Contacts:
Steve Weitman
Chief Medical Officer
[email protected]
*
About PBS-Bio
Predictive Biomarker Sciences Inc. (PBS-Bio) is a privately held
corporation based in Mesa, Arizona, and founded in 2006 with
funding from private investors, mostly based in Arizona. It is
owned in part by the non-profit, Phoenix-based Translational
Genomics Research Institute (TGen). The PBS-Bio/TGen
collaborative team includes: Dr. Michael Bittner, a biologist,
Co-Director of TGen's Computational Biology Division, and Principal
Investigator at TGen for the PBS-Bio technology; Dr. Edward
Dougherty, an electrical engineer and the other Co-Director of
TGen's Computational Biology Division; and Dr. Edward Smith, a
medical doctor, an adjunct faculty member of TGen, and co-founder
and CEO of PBS-Bio. The three began their collaborations while
working under TGen President and Research Director Dr. Jeffrey
Trent when Dr. Trent was the Scientific Director of the National
Human Genomics Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. Their
professional relationships continued after TGen was founded in
Phoenix in 2002. For more information, please visit:
pbs-bio.com.
Press Contact:
Dr. Edward Smith, M.D.
President and CEO
602-418-9300
[email protected]