Starpharma Holdings Limited
(ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
(MIPS) have been awarded an Australian Research Council funding grant for the
purpose of advancing a new drug delivery method that may benefit thousands of
patients with particular types of cancer, HIV and lymphatic conditions world-wide.
Innovation Minister Kim Carr awarded Starpharma and MIPS $420,000 as part of
the ARC’s Linkage Projects scheme aimed at encouraging Australian institutions
to undertake innovative and cutting-edge research projects in collaboration
with industry and other partners.
“This funding will assist in advancing our collaboration with researchers
from Monash University over the next three years, to further understand the
full potential of Starpharma’s proprietary dendrimers in improving drug
delivery,” said Dr Jackie Fairley, CEO of Starpharma. “This research
has the potential to significantly improve the treatment of diseases, including
metastatic cancer, lymphoma, HIV and metastitial tuberculosis.”
Professor Chris Porter, lead researcher and Associate Dean of Research at MIPS,
said the technology has particular implications for the treatment of diseases
which are spread via the lymphatics and lymph nodes.
“Our work so far suggests that careful design of the size and surface
characteristics of certain dendrimers provides an opportunity to boost delivery
to the lymphatic system, signalling the potential to significantly improve patient
treatment,” Professor Porter explained. “This Linkage grant provides
an excellent opportunity to explore these issues in detail and to advance the
development of targeted therapeutics”.
The ability to target therapeutics in this way has the potential to enhance
efficacy and reduce side effects and toxicity of treatments. The approach also
prolongs the lifetime of the drug in question by slowing the process of drug
breakdown. This maximises the opportunities for the drug to reach the relevant
sites in the body before being cleared by the body’s natural mechanisms.
The delivery method relies on dendrimer technology. Dendrimers are precisely
defined biofriendly molecules 3-10 nanometres in diameter. They are approximately
spherical in shape with a surface which has many different sites to which drugs
and other functional groups may be attached, allowing optimisation of how the
drug interacts with the body.
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) is a world leader in the
development of dendrimer technology for pharmaceutical, life-science and other
applications. SPL has two operating companies, Starpharma Pty Ltd in Melbourne,
Australia and DNT, Inc in the USA. Products based on SPL’s dendrimer technology
are already on the market in the form of diagnostic elements and laboratory
reagents through licence arrangements with partners including Siemens and Merck
KgA.
The Company’s lead pharmaceutical development product is VivaGel®
(SPL7013 Gel), a vaginal microbicide designed to prevent the transmission of
STIs, including HIV and genital herpes. In September 2008 Starpharma signed
a full licence agreement with SSL International plc (LSE:SSL) to develop a VivaGel®
coated condom. SSL manufactures and sells Durex® condoms, the market-leading
condom brand worldwide.
Starpharma also has agreements in place with Lilly, Elanco, Stiefel Laboratories
(a GSK Company), and Unilever as well as many research collaborations with some
of the world’s leading organisations.