Pharminox Ltd to Test Novel Anti-tumour Agents
1st February 2009
Oxford University's latest spin-out company, Pharminox Ltd, has been set up to carry out pre-clinical studies on novel platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of ovarian, testicular and colorectal cancer, aimed at overcoming the side effects and resistance associated with currently available drugs.
The know-how behind the new class of platinum complexes has been developed in the laboratory of Professor Gordon Lowe FRS, Emeritus Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of Oxford. The new complexes act by inhibiting the synthesis of DNA building blocks. Tumour cells treated with these complexes are consequently starved of the materials required for DNA synthesis and are thus unable to divide. This novel mode of action, together with a novel mechanism of delivery to solid tumours, suggests that the new complexes should have fewer side effects such as hair loss and kidney damage.
Professor Lowe said: ‘The discovery of the anti-tumour activity of these novel platinum complexes arose out of a fundamental study of the structure of DNA. Only by forming a company and raising the necessary capital could their potential as chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancers be explored. Although much progress has been made in the treatment of various cancers there is still a need for more targeted therapies which should allow patients to be treated with curative doses yet experience fewer side-effects.’
Pharminox Ltd has been set up with funds raised by IP2IPO, a subsidiary of the investment bank Beeson Gregory, and those provided by the Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund. The company is the second spin-off in less than a month following the joint venture between Oxford University and IP2IPO, entitling IP2IPO to half of the University’s equity entitlement spun out of the Chemistry Department in return for a £20m donation towards state-of-the-art laboratories.
For further information, please contact the University Press Office on 01865 280528.
Press release sign up
