Melbourne, Australia – Tuesday 29 June 2010: Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) have been awarded an Australian Research Council funding grant for the purpose of advancing a new drug delivery method that may benefit thousands of patients with particular types of cancer, HIV and lymphatic conditions world-wide.
Innovation Minister Kim Carr awarded Starpharma and MIPS $420,000 as part of the ARC’s Linkage Projects scheme aimed at encouraging Australian institutions to undertake innovative and cutting-edge research projects in collaboration with industry and other partners.
“This funding will assist in advancing our collaboration with researchers from Monash University over the next three years, to further understand the full potential of Starpharma’s proprietary dendrimers in improving drug delivery,” said Dr Jackie Fairley, CEO of Starpharma. “This research has the potential to significantly improve the treatment of diseases, including metastatic cancer, lymphoma, HIV and metastitial tuberculosis.”
Professor Chris Porter, lead researcher and Associate Dean of Research at MIPS, said the technology has particular implications for the treatment of diseases which are spread via the lymphatics and lymph nodes.
“Our work so far suggests that careful design of the size and surface characteristics of certain dendrimers provides an opportunity to boost delivery to the lymphatic system, signalling the potential to significantly improve patient treatment,” Professor Porter explained. “This Linkage grant provides an excellent opportunity to explore these issues in detail and to advance the development of targeted therapeutics”.
The ability to target therapeutics in this way has the potential to enhance efficacy and reduce side effects and toxicity of treatments. The approach also prolongs the lifetime of the drug in question by slowing the process of drug breakdown. This maximises the opportunities for the drug to reach the relevant sites in the body before being cleared by the body’s natural mechanisms.
The delivery method relies on dendrimer technology. Dendrimers are precisely defined biofriendly molecules 3-10 nanometres in diameter. They are approximately spherical in shape with a surface which has many different sites to which drugs and other functional groups may be attached, allowing optimisation of how the drug interacts with the body.
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® (SPL7013 Gel), a vaginal microbicide designed to prevent the transmission of STIs, including HIV and genital herpes. In September 2008 Starpharma signed a full licence agreement with SSL International plc (LSE:SSL) to develop a VivaGel® coated condom. SSL manufactures and sells Durex® 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 (www.otcqx.com), a premium market tier in the U.S. for international exchange-listed companies, operated by Pink OTC Markets, Inc.
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
www.starpharma.com Ellie Papathanasiou Tel: +61 2 9237 2800 Mob: +61 405 342 490 epapathanasiou@bcg.com.au
Starpharma
Dr Jackie Fairley Chief Executive Officer +61 3 8532 2704
Ben Rogers Company Secretary +61 3 8532 2702 ben.rogers@starpharma.com
