Helix BioPharma Corp. contracts KBI Biopharma to develop an L-DOS47 clinical packaging format

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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nAURORA, ON, Jan. 16 /CNW/ - Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: HBP/Frankfurt:\nWKN 918846) announced today that it has signed an agreement with KBI Biopharma\nInc. ("KBI") to develop a process for preparing L-DOS47 in a lyophilized\n(freeze-dried powder) vial format suitable for clinical testing.\n\n\n"This new arrangement advances the Company closer to its objective of\ninitiating clinical testing with L-DOS47," said John Docherty, Helix's\npresident. "The lyophilized packaging format will provide for optimum\nstability of L-DOS47 while in storage so that individual vials may be\nreconstituted in liquid form immediately prior to patient administration."\n\n\nAbout L-DOS47\n\n\nL-DOS47 combines Helix's proprietary DOS47 new drug candidate with a\nhighly specific single domain antibody to form a potential new targeted drug\nproduct for the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the lung, the most common form\nof cancer in the world today. L-DOS47 is thought to function by leveraging a\nnatural process in the body called the urea cycle to produce an anti-cancer\neffect. It is based upon a naturally occurring enzyme called urease that\nessentially reverses the urea cycle by breaking down urea into metabolites\nthat include ammonia and hydroxyl ions. By doing so at the site of cancerous\ntissues in the body, L-DOS47 is believed to modify the microenvironmental\nconditions of lung cancer cells in a manner that leads to their death. Among\nthese theorized effects, L-DOS47 is believed to stimulate an increase in the\npH of the microenvironment surrounding the cancerous cells, effectively\nreversing the acidic extra-cellular conditions that are known to be necessary\nfor cancer cell survival. As well, the local production of ammonia at the site\nof cancerous tissues is thought to readily diffuse into the cancer cells to\nexert a potent cytotoxic effect by interfering with their critical metabolic\nfunctions. Helix intends to seek approval in 2008 by the U.S. Food and Drug\nAdministration ("FDA") to conduct a Phase I clinical study with L-DOS47 in\nlung adenocarcinoma patients.\n\n\nAbout KBI BioPharma\n\n\nKBI Biopharma Inc. is a contract biopharmaceutical development\norganization offering a full range of preformulation/formulation development,\nanalytical method development and validation, full process...

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