Helix BioPharma awarded first U.S. Patent for DOS47

07-May-2007

Helix BioPharma Corp. announced the issuance of a patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,211,250) from the United States Patent & Trademark Office relating to the method and composition in combining DOS47 with targeting agents in the treatment of cancer. Helix is currently developing its first DOS47-based cancer therapeutic, L-DOS47, a drug product candidate for the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Preliminary in vitro and in vivo testing of L-DOS47 has been completed with certain research findings presented in peer-reviewed publications, posters and scientific meetings. In addition, Helix has begun scale-up manufacturing of L-DOS47 for the Company's upcoming preclinical and clinical testing initiatives.

L-DOS47 combines Helix's proprietary DOS47 new drug candidate with a highly specific single domain antibody, to form a potential new targeted drug product for the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the lung. L-DOS47 is thought to function by leveraging a natural process in the body called the urea cycle, to produce an anti-cancer effect. It is based upon a naturally occurring enzyme called urease that essentially reverses the urea cycle by breaking down urea into metabolites that include ammonia and hydroxyl ions. By doing so at the site of cancerous tissues in the body, L-DOS47 is believed to modify the microenvironmental conditions of lung cancer cells in a manner that leads to their death. Among these theorized effects, L-DOS47 is believed to stimulate an increase in the pH of the microenvironment surrounding the cancerous cells, effectively reversing the acidic extra-cellular conditions that are known to be necessary for cancer cell survival. As well, the local production of ammonia at the site of cancerous tissues is thought to readily diffuse into the cancer cells to exert a potent cytotoxic effect by interfering with their critical metabolic functions.

Other news from the department research and development

Most read news

More news from our other portals

So close that even
molecules turn red...