SYDNEY and COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 4,
2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers and children's cancer
advocates in Australia and the
U.S. have formed a unique research and development alliance to
facilitate development of treatments for children fighting
neuroblastoma, the most common and fatal form of solid cancer
affecting infants.
The Children's Oncology Drug Alliance (CODA) unites the research
and resources of the University of New South
Wales (UNSW) in Australia
and its commercialization arm, NewSouth Innovations; The Kids'
Cancer Project, an Australia-based
childhood cancer research charity; Novogen, an ASX and
NASDAQ-listed Australian oncology drug development company; and
Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. CODA's mission is to help
accelerate development of an innovative new therapeutic approach to
neuroblastoma.
"For too long, childhood cancers have been neglected despite the
progress made with treatments for adult cancers. The Alliance
brings together the science, expertise and funding to accelerate
the development of a medicine that has the potential to change the
way we treat solid cancers in children," said Professor
Peter Gunning, Head of the Oncology
Research Unit at UNSW Medicine.
Currently there is no medicine approved to treat neuroblastoma,
a cancer that affects up to 100 children in Australia and around 650 in the United States each year. Childhood cancers
such as neuroblastoma currently are treated with chemotherapies
that have been developed for adults with little consideration to
the special needs of children.
CODA plans to work with U.S. and Australian regulators to launch
and advance clinical trials of a unique new anti-cancer approach
originally discovered and investigated by Professor Gunning's UNSW
research team and funded by The Kids' Cancer Project. Now being
taken forward commercially by Novogen, the drug, which belongs to a
class of therapies known as anti-tropomyosins, has been
specifically tailored to selectively target the structure of the
cancer cell, causing it to collapse without adversely impacting
healthy cells.
"These drugs are very promising and long overdue," said
Professor Peter Smith, M.D., Dean of
UNSW Medicine, who has worked as a childhood oncologist and is a
member of The Kids' Cancer Project's Research Advisory Committee.
"Based on evidence seen in pre-clinical models, the
anti-tropomyosins appear to have the potential to become the most
significant development in the treatment of childhood cancer in
more than 20 years."
"Our research has shown anti-tropomyosins to be highly effective
at killing neuroblastoma cells and slowing their growth in animal
models," said Professor Timothy
Cripe, M.D., Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood
and Marrow Transplantation at the Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Affiliated with The Ohio State
University, Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the top
hospitals in the U.S. for treating children with neuroblastoma.
"The Holy Grail of childhood cancer therapy is a medicine that
is effective against the cancer, but doesn't leave the sort of
damage that the child then has to deal with for the rest of his or
her life," Novogen CEO, Dr. Graham
Kelly, said. "We believe the drugs we have developed have
the potency, selectivity and safety profile to meet the special
needs of children," he said.
"We intend to make both our anti-tropomyosin and
super-benzopyran drug technologies available for this cause," Kelly
added.
Novogen currently is finalizing pre-clinical research of its two
lead dug candidates, with the goal of starting clinical studies in
Australian and U.S. patients in 2015. The aim is that the childhood
trials in neuroblastoma will be progressed in parallel with trials
of anti-tropomyosins and super-benzopyrans for a number of adult
cancers.
Novogen acquired the anti-tropomyosin technology from another
Australian biotechnology company in 2013 and has used its drug
discovery expertise to produce molecules substantially more potent
in the lab than those originally developed.
The Kids' Cancer Project has supported the anti-tropomyosin
research program since its beginnings in 1998, providing funding of
$9 million to date. The charity also
aims to raise a further $2.7 million
to support clinical trials of the new medicine in children with
neuroblastoma who have exhausted other treatment options.
Col Reynolds OAM, Founder of The Kids' Cancer Project, said:
"Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have been able to fund
the initial research and proof-of-concept studies. The Alliance
with Novogen and the other CODA partners now provides the means to
progress to the clinical trial phase."
Mr. Reynolds said The Kids' Cancer Project would continue to
fundraise to ensure that the next phase of research into a
treatment for neuroblastoma was not delayed. He highlighted that
childhood cancers are second only to breast cancer in terms of the
number of years of life lost to cancer in Australia. "The Alliance would like to see
other groups join the cause. We are keen to partner with anyone who
can contribute to the development of improved treatment options for
children with cancer," he said.
The clinical trials due to start in the U.S. and Australia next year are the first important
step towards this treatment becoming available to patients on a
general basis; the process of which is expected to take a number of
years.
Donations to The Kids' Cancer Project can be made at
www.thekidscancerproject.org.au.
About Neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that
develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the
body. Neuroblastoma most commonly arises in and around the adrenal
glands, which have similar origins to nerve cells and sit atop the
kidneys. However, neuroblastoma can also develop in other areas of
the abdomen and in the chest, neck and near the spine, where groups
of nerve cells exist. Neuroblastoma most commonly affects children
age 5 or younger, though it may rarely occur in older children.
Some forms of neuroblastoma go away on their own, while others may
require multiple treatments.
About The Kids Cancer Project
The Kids' Cancer Project
is an Australian charity focused on finding cures for childhood
cancer. Their aim is to fund research programs dedicated to finding
cures for childhood cancer. Ultimately, finding a cure is about
saving children's lives and ending the heartbreak childhood cancer
brings to so many families. Currently The Kids' Cancer Project is
focused on finding cures for brain tumours and neuroblastoma.
About the University of New South
Wales Australia
UNSW Australia is one of the
country's leading research and teaching universities. Established
in 1949, it is ranked among the top 60 universities in the world,
renowned for the quality of its graduates and its world-class
research. UNSW is a founding member of the Group of Eight, a
coalition of Australia's leading
research-intensive universities, and of the prestigious
international network Universitas 21. With more than 50,000
students from over 120 countries, it is one of Australia's most cosmopolitan
universities.
About NewSouth Innovations
NewSouth Innovations is the
gateway to research discoveries and inventions created at UNSW
Australia. (The University of New South
Wales). NSi focuses on transforming research discoveries
into successful innovations and products to benefit society, the
economy and future generations.
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Ranked in all 10
specialties on U.S.News & World Report's 2013-14
"America's Best Children's Hospitals" list and among the Top 10 on
Parents magazine's 2013 "Best Children's Hospitals" list,
Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the nation's largest
not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing
care for infants, children and adolescents as well as adult
patients with congenital disease. As home to the Department of
Pediatrics of The Ohio State University
College of Medicine, Nationwide Children's faculty train the next
generation of pediatricians, scientists and pediatric specialists.
The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of
the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing
pediatric research facilities in the U.S., supporting basic,
clinical, translational and health services research at Nationwide
Children's. The Research Institute encompasses three research
facilities totaling 525,000 square feet dedicated to research. More
information is available at
www.NationwideChildrens.org/Research.
About Novogen
Novogen is a public, Australian
biotechnology company whose shares trade on both the Australian
Securities Exchange ('NRT') and NASDAQ ('NVGN'). The Company
is based in Sydney, Australia, and
with a U.S. office in New Haven,
Connecticut. The Company has two main drug technology
platforms known as super-benzopyrans (SBP) and anti-tropomyosins
(ATM). SBP drugs target cancer stem cells and are being developed
for the treatment of ovarian cancer and glioblastoma. ATM drugs
target the cancer cell cytoskeleton and are being developed for the
treatment of melanoma, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer and
neuroblastoma. Novogen has entered into a joint venture with
Yale University known as CanTx Inc.
with the aim of developing an intra-peritoneal product for
late-stage ovarian cancer.
Further information on CODA is available at
www.childrensoncologydrugalliance.org
Further information on Novogen is available on the Company's
website, www.novogen.com.
Contact
In Australia
Jay Pleass
Ethical
Strategies
(0412 623 578)
John Morton
02 8904 7300
In the USA
Hollister
Hovey/Allison Parks
Lazar Partners
+ 1 212-867-1762
Novogen@lazarpartners.com
In ROW
Sue
Charles/Stefanie Bacher
Instinctif Partners
+44 (0)20 7457 2020
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131220/NY36990LOGO
SOURCE Novogen