Partnership to further develop anticancer formulation

The University of Wollongong (UOW) has licensed the commercialisation rights to a novel drug formulation for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to a local biotech company - FivePhusion.

Arising from research conducted between 2003 and 2010 within the university’s Schools of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, the formulation has performed well in preclinical testing and has the potential to overcome key adverse events associated with current mCRC treatment regimens.

“Many colorectal cancer patients cannot tolerate existing ‘standard of care’ treatments, which leads to interruption or discontinuation of therapy,” according to Professor Phillip Clingan, one of the co-inventors of the formulation. “The main benefit of the new formulation is the ability to deliver an effective chemotherapeutic regimen that patients can tolerate over repeated treatment cycles.”

The terms of the licence agreement include FivePhusion sponsoring a Phase 1B/2A clinical trial of the drug, starting this year. The trial is planned to be conducted at two sites: the Southern Medical Day Care Centre in Wollongong and Liverpool Hospital in Sydney.

“FivePhusion is very excited by the opportunity to commercialise such a promising drug, as it has the potential to significantly improve the treatment of cancer patients,” FivePhusion Managing Director David Ranson said.

“However, we are still at the early stages of development of this drug, and it is likely to be several years and many more trials before this drug can be approved for clinical use. After completing the initial phase 1B/2A trial, we will seek to raise further funds to bring the drug to market.”

In a further boost to the commercialisation effort, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has now granted US patent rights to the drug formulation, which already is patented in both Europe and China. UOW’s Commercialisation Manager (Health and Science), Dr Gavin Dixon, said the additional patent provides the opportunity with a solid intellectual property base as it progresses through clinical testing and market launch.

UOW and FivePhusion acknowledged the considerable financial support that local organisations have contributed to the project over the years, including the Illawarra Cancer Carers, Kiama, Minnamurra and Gerringong Sunrise Rotary, The Robert East Memorial Fund, Southern Medical Day Care Centre, the Gay Bates Memorial Foundation and UOW Alumni. The project has also received Australian Government funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and AusIndustry’s COMET scheme.