PISCATAWAY, N.J., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- PBL Therapeutics
(http://www.pblbio.com) announced today that it has been awarded $1.38 million from
the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to enable the Company to continue
commercialization of one of its novel and proprietary technology platforms.
The Company will collaborate with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and
the New Jersey Medical School of the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New
Jersey (UMDNJ).
PBL Therapeutics is producing the next generation of interferon molecules
-- ultra interferons(TM), which can be 25 to 30 times more potent than the
interferons currently used in therapy. Equally significant, PBL Therapeutics
has also developed its Sustained-Release Protein Delivery (SuRe-PD(TM))
technology to deliver interferon directly to tumors and release the drug
slowly over time. Together, ultra interferons(TM) and SuRe-PD(TM) are expected
to enable PBL to develop more effective cancer treatments, with dramatically
reduced side effects.
"Interferons are successful in treating multiple sclerosis and viral
diseases such as hepatitis C, generating $5 billion in sales per year," said
Robert Pestka, president and chief executive officer of PBL Therapeutics.
"However, interferon's cancer-fighting potential has not yet been fully
realized, because of the toxic side effects of systemically administered
interferon. In this regard, the early history of interferon is similar to that
of another class of drugs, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs)."
Interferons were first purified in the 1970s -- at the same time MAbs were
first being produced. The first MAbs, which were derived from mice, were
incompatible with the human immune system and thus often caused severe
allergic responses. A breakthrough in 1986 allowed for the production of the
first humanized MAbs, which could be better tolerated by patients. Eleven
years later, the first anti-cancer MAb, Rituxan(R), was approved for use in
humans. Today, 10 approved MAbs are generating nearly $2 billion in annual
worldwide revenues, and there are 60 MAb-based cancer drugs in clinical
trials.
"It's not unusual for a class of drugs to take two to three decades to
achieve market success," added Robert Pestka. "We believe the breakthroughs
PBL has made with interferon may ultimately be as significant as the 1986
breakthrough that helped reduce immunogenicity of monoclonal antibodies, which
subsequently enabled MAbs to be used successfully as cancer-fighting agents.
In fact, we are convinced that such success is imminent for interferon-based
cancer drugs. And interferon is broadly applicable to a variety of cancers,
whereas individual MAbs target a single tumor type. In addition, some tumor
cells evade MAb therapy because they don't express the antigen. Interferon, on
the other hand, acts directly to kill tumor cells regardless of antigen
expression, and mobilizes a series of immune responses, stimulating the body's
own natural defenses to seek out and destroy tumors and stray cancerous cells
throughout the body."
PBL Therapeutics' founder and chief scientific officer, Sidney Pestka,
M.D., known as 'the father of interferon', was recently recognized by
President George W. Bush, who awarded Dr. Pestka the National Medal of
Technology at a special ceremony at the White House in June 2002. Dr. Pestka's
30 years of research have yielded stunning results: He was the first to purify
interferon; the first to clone and produce mature interferon; and he developed
the first biotherapeutic drug (Roferon-A) ever approved by the FDA. Today, the
entire biotechnology industry uses the pioneering technologies that Dr. Pestka
developed.
PBL Therapeutics, an emerging biotechnology company, has developed three
technology platforms: (1) Using its drug discovery platform, PBL can identify
a virtually unlimited number of interferon variants that are produced
naturally in cancer cells. Selected variants under development are 20 to 30
times more effective than Alpha 2 interferon, the first and only interferon
approved for cancer therapy. The Company screens these molecules to determine
which "ultra interferon(TM)" possesses the preferred characteristics to treat
the diseases of choice. (2) PBL then formulates the ultra interferon. using
its Sustained-Release Protein Delivery ("SuRe-PD(TM)") technology to deliver
the interferon locally, and release it slowly over time. Together, these two
technology platforms enable PBL Therapeutics to develop the most promising
interferon molecule, and to maximize the effectiveness of this molecule
through extended-release, localized delivery. (3) PBL Therapeutics'
phosphorylation technology, used primarily to radiolabel monoclonal antibodies
(MAbs), significantly improves upon the chemical labeling procedures currently
used to target radiation to tumors. MAbs with genetically engineered
phosphorylation sites facilitate the delivery of high-energy radioactivity to
cancer cells. Phosphorylated MAbs retain higher activity and selectivity for
tumor antigens and appear less immunogenic than MAbs radiolabeled through
conventional chemical conjugation methods. This technology complements the
company's ultra interferons(TM), which stimulate expression of the tumor cell
surface antigens that phosphorylated MAbs target.
Certain statements contained herein, including statements regarding
development of the Company's products, services, markets, and future demands
for the Company's products and services, and other statements regarding
matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties; consequently,
actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied thereby.
Contact:
Jon Siegal
Sr. Account Executive
Ronald Trahan Associates Inc.
508.647.9782, ext. 15
SOURCE PBL Therapeutics
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Related links:
http://www.pblbio.com
CONTACT:
Jon Siegal, Sr. Account Executive of Ronald
Trahan Associates Inc., +1-508-647-9782, ext. 15
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