AURORA, ON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Helix BioPharma Corp.
Dr. Heman Chao, Vice President of Research at Helix BioPharma, a developer of novel cancer therapeutics, will be presenting a scientific poster on Friday, February 2nd at the Keystone Symposia meeting, “Antibodies as Drugs: From Basic Biology to the Clinic”.
The poster entitled “L-DOS47 a Lung Adenocarcinoma Specific Immuno-Conjugate” highlights the specificity of Helix’s L-DOS47 immuno-conjugate new drug product candidate in binding to human lung adenocarcinoma cells. L-DOS47 is the first immuno-conjugate therapeutic drug product candidate derived from Helix’s novel anti-cancer DOS47 platform technology.
The poster describes how more than 400 tissue samples were screened, representing 42 groups consisting of various cancerous and matched normal tissues. Of the samples screened, only lung adenocarcinoma tissues showed considerable staining with over 80% of the cells being recognized. The poster further highlights preliminary findings which demonstrate immunopositive staining for L-DOS47 in human lung adenocarcinoma metastasized to lymph node tissues.
“These findings provide further evidence of the specific targeting nature of L-DOS47 for human lung adenocarcinoma in both primary and metastasized tissues,” said Dr. Heman Chao. “They are encouraging and support our ongoing commitment in advancing L-DOS47 towards human clinical testing.”
A copy of the poster will be available on Helix’s website for download (http://www.helixbiopharma.com).
About L-DOS47
L-DOS47 combines Helix’s proprietary DOS47 new drug candidate with a highly specific single domain antibody, to form a potential new targeted drug product for the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the lung, the most common form of cancer in the world today. L-DOS47 is thought to function by leveraging a natural process in the body called the urea cycle, to produce an anti-cancer effect. It is based upon a naturally occurring enzyme called urease that essentially reverses the urea cycle by breaking down urea into metabolites that include ammonia and hydroxyl ions. By doing so at the site of cancerous tissues in the body, L-DOS47 is believed to modify the microenvironmental conditions of lung cancer cells in a manner that leads to their death. Among these theorized effects, L-DOS47 is believed to stimulate an increase in the pH of the microenvironment surrounding the cancerous cells, effectively reversing the acidic extra-cellular conditions that are known to be necessary for cancer cell survival. As well, the local production of ammonia at the site of cancerous tissues is thought to readily diffuse into the cancer cells to exert a potent cytotoxic effect by interfering with their critical metabolic functions.
About Helix BioPharma
Helix BioPharma Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the field of cancer therapy. The Company is actively developing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of cancer based on its proprietary technologies. Helix’s product development initiatives include its Topical Interferon Alpha-2b, for the treatment of conditions caused by the human papilloma virus, and its novel L-DOS47 new drug product candidate for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. Helix is listed on the TSX under the symbol “HBP”.
The Toronto and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this News Release. This News Release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding potential cancer therapeutics under development by the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “encouraging”, “ongoing”, “advance”, “potential”, “new”, “will”, “believed”, “theorized”, or variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results. Forward looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and Helix’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, including without limitation, uncertainty whether L-DOS47 will be developed successfully as a drug or at all; uncertainty whether DOS47 will be developed as a therapeutic for any other cancers; research & development risks; the risk of technical obsolescence; the need for regulatory approvals, which may not be obtained in a timely matter or at all; the need for clinical trials, the occurrence and success of which cannot be assured; intellectual property risks; marketing/manufacturing and partnership/strategic alliance risks; the effect of competition; Helix’s need for additional future capital, which may not be available in a timely manner or at all, as well as a description of other risks and uncertainties affecting Helix and its business, as contained in news releases and filings with the Canadian Securities Regulatory Authorities, any of which could cause actual results to vary materially from current results or Helix’s anticipated future results. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of Helix’s management at the time they are made, and Helix does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement should those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances change.
Helix BioPharma Corp.
CONTACT: Investor Relations, Christina Bessant or Nick Hurst, The EquicomGroup Inc., Tel: (416) 815-0700 ext. 269, (800) 385-5451, Fax: (416)815-0080, Email: cbessant@equicomgroup.com, nhurst@equicomgroup.com; MediaRelations, Matthew Haines, Noonan Russo, Tel: (212) 845-4235, Fax: (212)845-4260, Email: Matthew.Haines@eurorscg.com, www.NoonanRusso.com
