April a stellar month for BioProspecting NB Inc.

April 30, 2009
Sackville, NB - April has been a banner month for Sackville-based BioProspecting NB Inc. Founded in 2005, the company is an early stage drug discovery company that focuses on novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer and chronic pain. The drug candidates are derived from soricidin, a compound isolated from the venom of the shrew, a small mammal native to Eastern Canada. The company has evolved rapidly since the founder, Jack Stewart, a biochemistry professor at Mount Allison University, started trapping the tiny rodents in his yard in 2001.

More recently, the company strategy has been to qualify an ovarian cancer target for Orphan Drug designation while undertaking business development activities with related and other non-oncologic indications for the soricidin technology.

In early April, the company released preliminary data indicating its cancer drug is as effective in reducing tumour growth in ovarian cancer as current chemotherapy, with no obvious toxic side effects. This information moves BPNBI's targeted cancer management program with its new drug candidate to the next level. Following positive studies with human ovarian and breast cancer cell cultures done in collaboration with the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute in Moncton NB, the Sackville biopharmaceutical company has completed a pilot study with human ovarian cancer transplanted into mice. In this pilot study, out-sourced at the BC Cancer Agency, BPNBI's lead compound at the dose used, significantly reduced tumor growth as compared to the tumor growth in untreated animals, and was, comparable to the levels observed with standard chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer was the sixth highest among new cancer cases diagnosed and fifth in number of deaths due to cancer in Canadian women in 1998. Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality, or death rate, of all cancers of the female reproductive system, which reflects, in part, a lack of clearly recognizable early symptoms and proven ovarian cancer screening tests. Thus, ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, after the cancer has spread beyond the ovary. It is estimated that approximately $2.2 billion is spent in the United States each year on treatment of ovarian cancer (National Cancer Institute).

Soricidin is a proprietary peptide isolated from the sub-maxillary saliva gland of the Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) that exhibits both paralytic and anti-tumor activity through selective ion channel modulation. The inherent bi-functionality is a rare phenomenon in small peptides and has not been reported in the literature. The peptides have pronounced effects on cancer cells, through inhibition of a novel calcium channel cancer target, TRPV6 (transient receptor potential, vanilloid 6). Cancers of the breast, ovary and prostate, for example, are deemed to proliferate through the over-expression of TRPV6, which initiates a pro-survival pathway. In essence, the unique bi-functional biological properties of the soricidin technology present a unique drug development opportunity.

Earlier this year, the company also announced the grant of its third US patent. This most recent patent contains claims for the use of the soricidin technology developed by BPNBI from paralytic shrew saliva to treat pain.

A recent study by BioAtlantech and its partners identified New Brunswick's most significant bio-medical research cluster in Southeastern NB, with economic activity and employment of $22 million, and 212, respectively, in 2007. These robust figures represent only discovery-based bioscience research in the public and private sector, and exclude health services and other health sectors, such as e-health. Southeastern New Brunswick is home to two significant universities.

BioProspecting NB Inc. maintains an active website with timely news updates. Please visit: http://www.bioprospecting.ca/

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