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Helix BioPharma signs agreement with the National Research Council of Canada
Helix BioPharma signs agreement with the National Research Council of Canada.
About this update from Helix Biopharma Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nAURORA, ON, Jan. 31 /CNW/ - Helix BioPharma Corp. (Helix; TSX,\nFSE: \"HBP\") today announced the signing of an agreement with the National\nResearch Council of Canada's Institute for Biological Sciences (NRC-IBS), to\nassist with the ongoing characterization of the lung cancer specific antibody\npreviously licensed to Helix for its L-DOS47 new drug candidate; as well as to\nidentify further novel tumor targeting antibodies.\n\"This joint effort by Helix and NRC-IBS is intended to contribute to the\npreclinical development program of L-DOS47 in support of Helix's anticipated\nIND filing,\" said Dr. Heman Chao, Helix's Vice President of Research.\nUnder the terms of the agreement, Helix will fund the work through the\nprovision of cash and \"in kind\" research and NRC-IBS will contribute \"in kind\"\nresearch. NRC-IBS has undertaken to negotiate with Helix in good faith to\nsettle the terms of an exclusive worldwide license, with rights to sublicense,\nthat will allow Helix to commercialize all intellectual property arising from\nthis agreement.\n\nAbout L-DOS47\n\nL-DOS47 combines Helix's proprietary DOS47 new drug candidate with a\nhighly specific antibody, to form a potential new targeted drug product for\nthe treatment of adenocarcinoma of the lung, the most common form of cancer in\nthe world today. L-DOS47 is thought to function by leveraging a natural\nprocess in the body called the urea cycle, to produce an anti-cancer effect.\nIt is based upon a naturally occurring enzyme called urease that essentially\nreverses the urea cycle by breaking down urea into metabolites that include\nammonia and hydroxyl ions. By doing so at the site of cancerous tissues in the\nbody, L-DOS47 is believed to modify the microenvironmental conditions of lung\ncancer cells in a manner that leads to their death. Among these theorized\neffects, L-DOS47 is believed to stimulate an increase in the pH of the\nmicroenvironment surrounding the cancerous cells, effectively reversing the\nacidic extra-cellular conditions that are known to be necessary for cancer\ncell survival. As well, the local production of ammonia at the site of\ncancerous tissues is thought to readily diffuse into the cancer cells to exert\na potent cytotoxic effect by interfering with their critical metabolic\nfunctions.\n\nAbout NRC-IBS\n\nRecognized globally for research...