Biotec Pharmacon (Troms) is one of the key players in the Norwegian biotech industry, with interests in marine enzymes and soluble beta glucan (SBG), a complex carbohydrate being developed as an immunomodulator and anticancer therapy.
Biotec Pharmacon began by looking for enzymes in fish waste, such as the water used to wash shrimps, a strategy that generated cash from day one. These enzymes were used in seafood processing, such as in scaling fish and skinning squid. But this side of the business was given up because of lack of control over raw materials.
The company turned to the research and diagnostics market for their cold-adapted enzymes such as shrimp alkaline phosphatase, shrimp nuclease, and cod uracil DNA glycosylase. These are now being made in recombinant systems.
The cold-adapted enzymes have new propertiesfor instance, shrimp nuclease has a specificity for double-stranded DNAleaving single stranded alone, which is useful in PCR and other molecular biology applications.
The enzymes are a source of cash, but Biotec Pharmacon also wants to make drugs. "We are interested in bioprospecting for pipeline products for pharmaceutical development, including finding novel genes for antimicrobial peptides," says Jan Raa, Ph.D., vp research and development.
The company already has a promising product in SBG, an immunostimulant used in fish feed to decrease mortality. The properties of SBG first became apparent when fish receiving it showed unexpectedly high survival rates in an incident where tanks were contaminated by seawater.
"We saw immediately that this could be an important commercial product. We were looking for something to increase immunity generally, because you can't vaccinate against everything," says Dr. Raa.
SBG stimulates macrophages, switching on genes that control key immune functions. It acts on the mucosal immune system and transmits signals to other parts of the body.
There are many forms of glucan, however, and the biological effects of SBG depend upon it having the correct length of side chain, which fits into the macrophage receptors.
Biotec Pharmacon's R&D efforts have led to a way of manufacturing a high-quality version of SBG from yeast. In humans, SBG can reportedly enhance the effect of monoclonal antibodies, and trials with cancer patients are ongoing at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute in a proof-of-concept study.
If SBG can synergize with the number of monoclonals both on the market and in the pipeline, then it has true blockbusting potential.
There are several other ongoing trials involving SBG. For example, SBG can enhance the effect of nasal flu vaccine and another trial is looking at SBG in diabetic ulcers, where it can help normalize dysfunctional macrophages.
In other experiments, rats with experimental periodontitis were treated with SBG in their drinking water, delaying the onset of gingivitis, a finding that has been replicated in Phase I/II studies.
In a Phase II study at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, SBG was beneficial in mucositis caused by chemotherapy and in animals, it can protect from LPS-induced septic shock. "A lot of things happen when these molecules are administered to mucosal surfaces," says Dr. Raa.