Starpharma Holdings Ltd to Expand Agricultural Program through $250,000 Funding
The funding, announced last night by the Minister of Technology, Gordon Rich-Phillips, as part of the Victorian Government's Small Technologies Industry Uptake Program (STIUP), will allow Starpharma to expand its Melbourne-based agricultural programs, further enhancing the commercial prospects of promising candidates.
Starpharma will be applying its Priostar(r) dendrimer technology to improve delivery of agrochemicals to enable healthier plant growth and fight plant disease. As well as increasing efficacy, improved delivery control of chemicals can reduce both the frequency of application and amount applied. Such innovations have the potential to reduce farmers' costs and also reduce environmental impact.
Starpharma's Priostar(r) dendrimers have already shown valuable properties for agrochemicals in previous studies, and the company is currently working with a number of leading agrochemical companies to advance specific commercial opportunities. This funding will allow Starpharma to independently undertake further agricultural trial work using specialist organizations.
Dr. Jackie Fairley, CEO Starpharma said: "We are delighted to have been selected for this funding. It will deliver significant benefits to Starpharma's agrochemical programs, and we would like to express our sincere thanks to the Victorian Government."
"This funding will allow Starpharma to generate important additional data on several generic agrochemical agents in our own trials.
Successful completion of these trials will represent an important advance in the development of this valuable technology, and will further enhance its commercial value."
The global market for agricultural chemicals in 2008 was estimated to be US$35.8 billion. This sector is typically considered to comprise insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, all of which are amenable to improvement by Starpharma's Priostar(r) dendrimers.
Starpharma's technology platform is based on dendrimers; a type of precisely-defined, branched nanoparticle. The technical approach to agricultural applications is an extension of Starpharma's drug delivery program, in which dendrimers advantageously modify the properties of drug molecules. Starpharma's Priostar(r) dendrimers which were originally developed by Starpharma's US subsidiary DNT Inc. are used for these agrochemical applications.
About Starpharma:
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) is a world leader in the development of dendrimer technology for pharmaceutical, life-science and other applications. SPL has two operating companies, Starpharma Pty Ltd in Melbourne, Australia and DNT, Inc in the USA. Products based on SPL's dendrimer technology are already on the market in the form of diagnostic elements and laboratory reagents through licence arrangements with partners including Siemens and Merck KgA.
The Company's lead pharmaceutical development product is VivaGel(r) (SPL7013 Gel), a vaginal microbicide designed to prevent the transmission of STIs, including HIV and genital herpes. Starpharma has a licence agreement with Reckitt Benckiser (LSE:RB) to develop a VivaGel(r) coated condom. Reckitt Benckiser manufactures and sells Durex(r) condoms, the market-leading condom brand worldwide.
Starpharma also has agreements in place with Lilly, Elanco, Stiefel Laboratories (a GSK Company), and Unilever as well as many research collaborations with some of the world's leading organisations.
Dendrimer: A type of precisely-defined, branched nanoparticle. Dendrimers have applications in the medical, electronics, chemicals and materials industries.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs): Starpharma's ADRs trade under the code SPHRY (CUSIP number 855563102). Each Starpharma ADR is equivalent to 10 ordinary shares of Starpharma as traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The Bank of New York Mellon is the depositary bank. Starpharma's ADRs are listed on International OTCQX, a premium market tier in the U.S. for international exchange-listed companies, operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. (www.otcmarkets.com).
Forward Looking Statements This document contains certain forward-looking statements, relating to Starpharma's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "promising", "plans", "anticipated", "will", "project", "believe", "forecast", "expected", "estimated", "targeting", "aiming", "set to", "potential", "seeking to", "goal", "could provide", "intends", "is being developed", "could be", "on track", or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential filings or marketing approvals, or potential future sales of product candidates. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements.
There can be no assurance that any existing or future regulatory filings will satisfy the FDA's and other health authorities' requirements regarding any one or more product candidates nor can there be any assurance that such product candidates will be approved by any health authorities for sale in any market or that they will reach any particular level of sales. In particular, management's expectations regarding the approval and commercialization of the product candidates could be affected by, among other things, unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis of existing clinical data, and new clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays, or government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry, and general public pricing pressures; and additional factors that involve significant risks and uncertainties about our products, product candidates, financial results and business prospects. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Starpharma is providing this information as of the date of this document and does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.
For further information:
Media:
Buchan Consulting Rebecca Wilson Mob: +61 417 382 391 rwilson@bcg.com.au
Starpharma:
Dr Jackie Fairley Chief Executive Officer Tel: +61 3 8532 2704
Ben Rogers Company Secretary Tel: +61 3 8532 2702 ben.rogers@starpharma.com