Sydney, Feb 3, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Leading cell therapy company CyGenics Ltd. (ASX: CYN) announced that it will be part of a new international collaborative effort to develop new treatments for cancer. This will be done via the novel approach of developing and mobilising immune cells outside the human body.
Called PACRIMA, the project brings together leading organisations from four countries: Division Haemato-Oncology of University Hospital Maastricht (AZM), the Netherlands, CyGenics, Maia-Scientific NV of Belgium, Pharmacell BV of the Netherlands, and a leading stem cell research institute in Japan. The partners anticipate that the majority of the project will be funded by grants and have applied for funding from a number of sources including EUREKA, a pan-European initiative to foster European research and development.
Current cancer therapies successfully treat 50% of patients, often with serious side effects. The body's T cells and natural killer (NK) cells need to be mobilised against the cancer. This mobilisation is done by dendritic cells, another specialised cell of the immune system. These cells patrol the body in search of foreign cells such as cancer cells. Once detected, the dendritic cells absorb part of the foreign cells' structure, and pass this information on to T cells and NK cells, which are then mobilized to kill the cells.
The PACRIMA Project seeks to stimulate the patient's own immune system to fight against cancer. PACRIMA seeks to explore whether CyGenics' patented three-dimensional cell culture platform, the Cytomatrix, is a suitable platform for growing antigen specific T cells (T cells activated for a specific disease by dendritic cells) and NK cells, and whether these cells are suitable for therapeutic use. CyGenics, from its pool of stem cells that have been donated for research, will also supply some of the stem cells from which all these cells - dendritic cells, T cells, NK cells - may be derived. If successful, this project would be a significant improvement over the current T cell culture platform.
"It is one of our main objectives to initiate a Centre of Excellence for Cell Therapy in Maastricht," said Rene Lardenoije, CEO of PharmaCell. "This R&D project with key players in the cell therapy arena will be very important for us to reach our goal. We are extremely pleased with this broad international cooperation. Bringing science and industry together in order to develop novel products and therapies is the way to build a strong future for Life Science here in Limburg."
"PACRIMA serves as a further validation of the efficacy of CyGenics' technology as a growth platform for various cell cultures," said Steven Fang, Group CEO of CyGenics. "This follows upon other collaborations such as with Johns Hopkins University, announced just two months' ago. These collaborations are fully in line with our corporate goal of realising the commercial potential of our technologies without the associated risks. The PACRIMA Project holds out the possibility of a truly elegant cure for many indications, without side effects, and has the potential of replacing many current treatment regimes"
Contact
Steven Fang, CEO, CyGenics Ltd
Mob: +61 (0)400 933 243
Email: steven.fang@CyGenics.com
Ian Brown, COO, CyGenics Ltd
Mob: +61 (0)438 565 212
Email: ian.brown@cygenics.com
Media Inquiries
Rebecca Piercy, Buchan Consulting
Ph: +61 (0)3 9866 4722
Mob: +61 (0)422 916 422
Email: rpiercy@bcg.com.au
Ronald Hee, CyGenics Ltd
Ph: +65 6238 0808
Mob: +65 9061 9098
Email:ronald.hee@cygenics.com
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