January 21, 2011 -- Buffalo , NY – AndroBioSYs, Inc. (ABS), a biotechnology company that performs drug discovery and development in the area of prostate disease and contract research services, has been awarded more than $2 million in new federal funds from three independent sources in the past six months.
The largest award is a two-year, $1 million Small Business Innovation Research “Phase Two” contract from the National Cancer Institute that will support a project focusing on prostate cancer imaging and therapeutics. ABS is partnering with Roswell Park Cancer Institute on the project, which involves developing a nano-sized agent that, when injected into the body and heated non-invasively, attaches itself to cancer tissue and kills the cancer in place without harming surrounding non-cancerous tissue. This treatment could replace current methods of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, all of which can have serious side effects. Other partners in the program include the University of North Carolina , which has the technology to deliver the nano-particles; and the University of Pittsburgh which lends its expertise in heat activation technology. ABS will lead the program and aims to initiate a clinical study in year two that will test the protocol on patients at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
The second award ABS received was for $750,000 that will support a Phase Two program through a Small Business Technology Transfer contract from the US Department of Defense for developing and refining a next generation prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. The advanced test would be able to determine if a patient has a more severe form of prostate cancer. AndroBioSys’ “Progenitor Cell Assay” detects cells that are responsible for spreading cancer to other organs in the body and that may be resistant to traditional treatments such as hormone and chemotherapy.
ABS also received a $244K Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery tax grant from the Internal Revenue Service to help fund biomedical research. The grant provides flexible funding to support the firm’s operating and organizational costs.
The company, which recently moved to the Roswell Park Cancer Institute complex, is currently seeking a $1 million investment to cover the costs of protecting its intellectual property and expanding research into hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer.
Formed by two investigators at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Gary Smith PhD and James Mohler MD, ABS became active in 2007 after the conclusion of an agreement with Roswell that provides exclusive rights to three pending patent applications and access to excess surgical tissues and scientific core facilities. ABS currently has seven employees and is led by CEO Michael Zwick. For more information on AndroBioSys, call 716-845-8226 or visit, www.androbiosys.com.
For More Information: Michael Zwick, CEO 716-845-8226
