Companies that presented at the conference are producing potential drugs to combat infectious diseases and other conditions such as cancer and obesity. IC-Vec's research director of biochemistry, Michael Keller, Ph.D., explained how his company is producing siRNA therapies to treat liver diseases.
According to Dr. Keller, using the siFECTplus cationic liposome delivery vectors developed at IC-Vec, siRNA is delivered so that it downregulates a reporter gene in the liver of Balb/C mice. Using this combination of vector and siRNA technology, a proof-of-principle study is now underway to determine if hepatitis B virus can be treated in mice.
To treat life-threatening infections caused by MRSA and Streptococcus pneumonia, ImmunoPrime, a spin-out from Arrow Therapeutics, uses a technique known as transposon-mediated differential hybridization to identify the bacterial proteins essential for survival in the hostile environments of the human body.
Professor Ian Charles, Ph.D., CEO of ImmunoPrime, states, "We are trying to find a pathogen's weak spots and disrupt them to cripple the bacteria. When we have identified the key proteins associated with survival, we are either going to produce monoclonal antibodies to them or use them to generate vaccines.
"This offers a fast track to the clinic as it can take as little as seven years to get monoclonal therapies to market, significantly quicker than the average for getting an NCE licensed."
The firm impressed the London Biotech Network, London First's networking group, and was chosen from 40 London-based biotech companies presenting at the meeting to receive the 2004 Bio-Innovation Award for the most innovative technology.
In contrast to IC-Vec and ImmunoPrime, Spear Therapeutics is developing a set of pro-drugs to treat a variety of cancers. Keith Powell, Ph.D., CEO of Spear, explained, "CYP1B1 is a cytochrome p450 that is over-expressed in a range of cancer cells but not normal tissues. Therefore, by generating pro-drugs activated by CYP1B1 we can target and localize the cytotoxic effects of the drug without the side effects often associated with conventional chemotherapy."
Dr. Powell showed in preclinical studies that Spear's two lead pro-drugs, DMU212 and DMU 949, have significant cytotoxic effects on breast tumor cells and no effect on normal breast tissue.
Dr. Powell stated, "We hope to begin a Phase I study of DMU212 early in 2006 for multiple clinical targets because this pro-drug has the potential to work in any tumor expressing CYP1B1."