U of S Spin-off Firm to Become World-Class Drug DeliveryResearch Centre
Posted January 13, 2000
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 13, 2000 | 2000-01-04-OTHER |
U of S Spin-off Firm to Become World-Class Drug Delivery Research Centre
PharmaDerm Laboratories Ltd., headed by U of S pharmacy professor Marianna Foldvari, was recently acquired by Helix Biopharma Corp. of Aurora, Ont. PharmaDerm specializes in injection-less drugs and vaccines.
"PharmaDerm is an example of how U of S research is creating economic activity for this region," said Branko Peterman, president of University of Saskatchewan Technologies Inc. (UST), the technology commercialization arm of the U of S.
Foldvari said the acquisition is an important step for both PharmaDerm, which currently employs 15 people, and herself as a scientist. "This merger with Helix BioPharma represents a step closer to the commercialization of technologies discovered here at the U of S and will facilitate the conversion of a new technology to real benefits for patients," she said.
With PharmaDerm’s BiphasixTM technology, Helix will focus on developing three products -- an insulin patch for the treatment of diabetes, interferon-a cream for the treatment of topical viral infections such as genital warts, and a vaccine delivery system.
The technology permits injectionless delivery of large therapeutic molecules such as proteins and DNA. Foldvari has designed a cellular vesicle that will encapsulate these large molecules and deliver them to the body through patches or substances that look like ointments.
This technology has been successfully demonstrated with insulin and interferon used to treat people affected with human papilloma virus (HPV), a disease that can cause gential warts and is linked to cervical cancer.
Earlier this week, Helix announced that in a U of S study, the injection-less drug technology has been used successfully to treat 18 patients with genital warts.
Foldvari expects the insulin patch and the HPV cream to be on the market within five years.
Foldvari started PharmaDerm in 1991. The technology was patented by UST which then licensed the technology to PharmaDerm in exchange for future royalties based on the sale of products incorporating the technology and shares in the company.
"Helix is proud to have made a multi-million dollar investment to develop the BiphasixTM drug delivery technology, largely through PharmaDerm," said Helix Vice-President Donald Segal.
"As a public company, Helix expects to continue to invest millions of dollars into this technology. Saskatoon and the U of S will benefit from this investment from both a scientific development and human resource perspective. People in Saskatoon now have the opportunity to become shareholders in this venture."
He said there was never any doubt that Helix would keep PharmaDerm in Saskatoon.
"The quality of life for our highly qualified research staff, the excellent facilities available to us, the expertise and support from the U of S all made the decision to stay in Saskatoon easy," he said. "We also expect to draw on the well-qualified U of S graduates to help meet our future scientific and technical human resource needs."
Helix expects to double its skilled workforce in Saskatoon over the next two to four years. PharmaDerm, which currently employs about 15 people, will move into temporary laboratory facilities in January and hopes to be in their permanent laboratories at Innovation Place within 12 months. "We are expecting to significantly improve our research capabilities as a result of these new state-of-the-art facilities," said Segal.
Helix recently bought out all the shares of PharmaDerm in exchange for 500,000 Helix shares. Previously, Helix had owned 23 per cent of PharmaDerm's shares.
Drug delivery is the fastest-growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry, with sales estimated to be US$ 14 billion per year and expected to grow to US$ 50 billion by 2005, according to industry analysts.
For more information, contact:
Kathryn Warden
U of S Research Communications Officer
(306) 966-2506
George Salvati
Investor Relations, Helix BioPharma Corp.
(905) 841-2300 ext. 232
