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Protox files foundation patent for PORxin™ technology
Monday, December 12, 2005 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Protox Therapeutics
Inc. announced today that it has filed a provisional patent application with
the United States Patent and Trademark Office entitled “Modified Pore-Forming
Toxins and Use Thereof”. This is a foundational patent application, intended
to encompass and protect several aspects of the Company’s entire PORxin™
technology. Under this application the Company’s ability to develop individual
protoxin candidates to act as either “broad spectrum” anti-cancer
agents or to treat specific cancer types would be protected.
“This advance is part of our strategy to build a broad intellectual
property portfolio around our core PORxin™ technology platform,"
said Dr. Fahar Merchant, President & CEO of the Company. “It can
significantly expand our ability to design and protect novel PORxin™
candidates, allowing us to develop or partner the PORxin™ pipeline for
indications beyond those currently being pursued by Protox.”
The Company’s ability to modify pore-forming toxins so that general
or specific cleavage agents can activate them is included in the application’s
claims, together with other modifications that allow selective targeting of
pore forming toxins to specific cells. The Company anticipates that one or
more of these modified pore forming toxins may be useful in the treatment
of specific forms of cancer and other diseases.
About Protox Therapeutics
Protox Therapeutics Inc. is developing novel targeted cancer therapeutics
based on engineered protein toxins. Its lead programme (PORxin™) is based
on pore forming protoxins such as modified proaerolysin. PORxins™
are inactive pro-drugs that are preferentially activated at the tumour site
into potent toxins by cancer specific proteases, thereby causing cancer cell
death. The Company works in partnership with research groups at the University
of Victoria, Johns Hopkins University, Scott & White Hospital and other
research institutions. The Company’s lead candidate, PORxin™302
is being developed for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The Company
anticipates that it will be ready to file an Investigational New Drug application
(IND) with the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America
(FDA) in Q4 2005 for approval to initiate a Phase I safety study with PORxin™302.
For more information, contact:
Terry Vanderkruyk
Director, Investor Relations, Protox Therapeutics Inc.
Tel: 604-688-4376
Cell: 604-789-0844
Fax: 604-688-0173
tvanderkruyk@protoxtherapeutics.com
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