MELBOURNE, Australia (PRWEB / Business Wire EON) July 2, 2008 -- Anadis Ltd. (ASX:ANX; OTC:ANDIY) an Australian biopharmaceutical company has been awarded a product development grant for its Cancer-related Alimentary Mucositis project. The award was one of only three made by the VISTECH bi-national fund, following a competitive process, which included a thorough scientific assessment. The fund was established by the Government of Victoria (Australia) and the Government of Israel through the Office of the Chief Scientist in its Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor. The intended product for the oncology market will leverage a special formulation of Anadis' immune milk-derived anti LPS antibodies, growth factors and other bioactives delivered using Anadis’ oral delivery technology.

(The) projects will lead to new health and sustainability-related products that will improve Victoria's quality of life and create more skilled jobs. VISTECH demonstrates the value of international partnerships in commercialising our research and highlights what Victoria can offer such partnerships on the world stage.

Oral and GI tract mucositis are health issues that affect a significant portion of the patient population. The pain and discomfort of Mucositis is among the top reasons for people to stop their cancer therapy and is also correlated with poor disease outcome. We hope that our product will become a new Gold Standard in cancer treatment, addressing the needs of millions of cancer patients.

Mr. Gavin Jennings, Victorian Minister for Innovation stated: “(The) projects will lead to new health and sustainability-related products that will improve Victoria’s quality of life and create more skilled jobs. VISTECH demonstrates the value of international partnerships in commercialising our research and highlights what Victoria can offer such partnerships on the world stage.”

The first installment of the grant (overall grant is $500,000 over 18 months), was awarded to Anadis and its Israeli collaborator, Maya BioTech, with whom Anadis will explore an innovative delivery device. Anadis anticipates that a commercial product to broadly address Alimentary (GI and Oral) Mucositis using its milk derived antibodies and other proteins would reach the market in 2-3 years given the product’s excellent safety profile.

Mucositis is a significant side effect in cancer therapy (between 20% and 100% of patients, depending on the type of cancer and treatment). It is characterized by intestinal tissue destruction throughout the GI tract, including painful mouth ulcerations. In the U.S. alone there are more than 10 million patients undergoing cancer treatments and 1.5 million new cancer cases per year. There are currently no effective treatments for GI Mucositis available in the marketplace and treatment for Oral Mucositis is very expensive and limited to a narrow group of eligible patients.

Anadis’ clinical studies will be initially conducted at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. It is one of the largest hospitals in Israel with teaching and research centers affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. The study at Tel Aviv Medical Center is led by Professor Nachum Vaisman, the head of Clinical Nutrition and by Professor Zamir Halpern, the head of the Gastrointestinal Institute.

Dr. Zeil Rosenberg, CEO of Anadis said “Oral and GI tract mucositis are health issues that affect a significant portion of the patient population. The pain and discomfort of Mucositis is among the top reasons for people to stop their cancer therapy and is also correlated with poor disease outcome. We hope that our product will become a new Gold Standard in cancer treatment, addressing the needs of millions of cancer patients.”

Dr. Oren Fuerst, VP Business Development at Anadis said, “We continue to receive recognition to the value of our immune milk-derived platform. In this case, the product will have a significant impact on the cancer treatment world, enabling longer and more effective treatment to millions of patients. We also believe our product will positively impact the oncology drug and biotherapuetics industry, improving their safety profile and thereby allowing more sustained use of new products. We intend to partner with these companies for the benefit of cancer patients.”

Keyword Tags:
antibodies, cancer, milk, mucositis, oncology, polyclonal antibody

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