SYDNEY, Feb. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Novogen Limited
(ASX:NRT; NASDAQ:NVGN) today announced the lodgement of final
specifications of a patent that covers the Company's first family
of super-benzopyran compounds that to date has yielded leading drug
candidates TRXE-002, TRXE-009 and
TRXE-0025.
Super-benzopyrans represent a new chemical structure of
increasing complexity and diversity. Based on the degree of that
complexity, Novogen chemists have identified at least 6 patent
families of related compounds. The final patent specifications just
lodged represent the first of those families, with some hundreds of
molecules designed and manufactured over the past 12 months. The
focus with this particular family of compounds has been their
ability to kill cancer stem cells. The underlying pharmacophore
responsible for this activity has been identified and forms a key
aspect of the patent.
Work is progressing on the remaining 5 potential patent families
to determine the underlying pharmacophores relevant to various
activities including the promotion of neurogenesis, to the
promotion of functionality of stem cells with genetic
abnormalities, and to the treatment of lysosomal storage diseases.
Once those potential patent families have been reduced to practice,
then the appropriate patents will be lodged.
Andrew Heaton PhD, Novogen Group Vice-President of Drug
Discovery and Manufacture, said, "The last 12 months has been a
highly productive time of reducing our super-benzopyran drug
discovery program to practice, so allowing this PCT final
specification to be lodged. Happily, we also are seeing these drugs
successfully come through their large-scale manufacturing process
ahead of a number of clinical trials over the next 12 months. We
have not hit any manufacturing hurdles, confirming the simpler
manufacturing process that is a key part of the patent."
Graham Kelly PhD, Novogen Group CEO, said, "Andrew's drug
discovery team has delivered an exciting opportunity to the
Company. These new families of not previously seen compounds are
proving an extraordinarily rich
source of potential new therapeutics. It is remarkable that the
same underlying molecular structure can yield compounds of such
diverse biological activity. This pleiotropy is what makes this
family of compounds so valuable."
"The lodgement of this patent also opens the way for our
collaborators to present data for conference presentations and
publications where disclosure of molecular structure is required,"
Kelly added.
About Novogen Limited
Novogen is a public, Australian drug-development company whose
shares trade on both the Australian Securities Exchange ('NRT') and
NASDAQ ('NVGN'). The Novogen Group includes a New Haven CT – based joint venture company,
CanTx Inc., with Yale University.
Novogen has two main drug technology platforms:
super-benzopyrans (SBPs) and anti-tropomyosins (ATMs). SBP
compounds have been created to kill the full range of cells within
a tumor, but particularly the cancer stem cells. The ATM
compounds target the microfilament component of the cancer cell and
when used in conjunction with standard anti-microtubular drugs,
result in comprehensive and fatal destruction of the cancer cell's
cytoskeleton. Ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, malignant ascites,
prostate cancer, neural cancers (glioblastoma, neuroblastoma in
children) and melanoma are the key clinical indications being
pursued, with the ultimate objective of employing both technologies
as a unified approach to first-line therapy.
Further information is available on our website: www.novogen.com
For more information please contact:
Corporate
Contact
Dr. Graham
Kelly
Executive Chairman
& CEO
Novogen
Group
Graham.Kelly@novogen.com
+61 (0) 2 9472
4100
|
Media
Enquiries
Cristyn
Humphreys
Chief Operating
Officer
Novogen
Group
Cristyn.Humphreys@novogen.com
+61 (0) 2 9472
4111
|
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The
Company has tried to identify such forward-looking statements by
use of such words as "expects," "appear," "intends," "hopes,"
"anticipates," "believes," "could," "should," "would," "may,"
"target," "evidences" and "estimates," and other similar
expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means of
identifying such statements. Such statements include, but are
not limited to any statements relating to the Company's drug
development program, including, but not limited to the initiation,
progress and outcomes of clinical trials of the Company's drug
development program, including, and any other statements that are
not historical facts. Such statements involve risks and
uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those risks and
uncertainties relating to the difficulties or delays in financing,
development, testing, regulatory approval, production and marketing
of the Company's drug components, including, but not limited to the
ability of the Company to procure additional future sources of
financing, unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate
therapeutic efficacy of the Company's drug compounds, including,
but not limited to events that could slow or prevent products
coming to market, the uncertainty of patent protection for the
Company's intellectual property or trade secrets, including, but
not limited to, the intellectual property relating to the Company's
two proprietary technology platforms, and other risks detailed
from time to time in the filings the Company makes with Securities
and Exchange Commission including its annual reports on Form 20-F
and its reports on Form 6-K. Such statements are based on
management's current expectations, but actual results may differ
materially due to various factions including those risks and
uncertainties mentioned or referred to in this press release.
Accordingly, you should not rely on those forward-looking
statements as a prediction of actual future results.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/novogen-lodges-key-super-benzopyran-patent-300034341.html
SOURCE Novogen Limited