Weeding out cancer scourgeBehind the locked doors of an industrial unit in Osborne Park, Solbec Pharmaceuticals is working on a drug it hopes could cure the scourge of cancer.
Using the fruit of the Devil’s Apple (solanum sodameum), a noxious weed from the night-shade family (which includes potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums and eggplants), Solbec is producing a drug called BEC. This name will change if and when it becomes commercial.
BEC was tested last year on more than 30 people under Australia’s Special Access Scheme, which allows people close to death to be treated with experimental drugs. In all but one case there was a positive response to the drug, ranging from a reduction in the biochemical markers to tumour regression. Many of the people are still alive, after initially being given little chance of survival.
Solbec managing director Stephen Carter has dozens of photos of people with disfiguring cancers which, over time, have been cured by BEC.
Mr Carter says there has been no real improvement in cancer survival rates in the past 50 years. And, while cancer treatments are notorious for their unpleasant side effects, BEC seems to be highly effective and causes nothing more than mild nausea.
With Solbec having patented the drug across the world and soon to hold discussions with various drug regulatory authorities, including the United States Food and Drug Authority, the company hopes to begin official Phase 1 (safety) trials on humans in Australia within a few months. Pending the success of these, Phase 2 (efficacy) trials should begin by the end of this year or early next year
Mr Carter said the company also was keen for the drug to be granted “orphan drug” status. This means Solbec would be the sole producer of the drug and the company would not face competition from generic drug producers.
He said this would allow a reduction in both the time and money taken to produce the drug (getting the drug to market will cost Solbec about $5 million, of which the company has already spent about $1.2 million). Solbec hopes to sign a licensing agreement with another company by the end of this year.
While the drug is currently produced as a powder that is made into a solution for injecting or infusing, Solbec is also examining whether to develop BEC in aerosol (for treating lung cancer) and tablet forms.
BEC also is intended for use on animals and, to that end, for the past few months Solbec has been working with Murdoch University’s Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences.
Murdoch scientists have been studying the effect of BEC against induced mesothelioma (a thus-far incurable asbestos-related lung cancer) in mice, with the second round of results released to the market last week.
To date the study has shown that 17 per cent of mice that received three BEC injections experienced a complete remiss-ion of their tumours. Mice that were not treated with BEC lived an average of 16 days, whereas mice treated with BEC more than once lived for an average of 28 days.
Solbec’s interest in pharmaceuticals is not limited to just cancer. Last year the company agreed to pay $850,000 to buy 49 per cent of Lawley Pharma-ceuticals, which has developed a testosterone-based steroid cream called Andro-Feme for the treatment of menopause.
Mr Carter said that, assuming Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration gave regulatory approval for Andro-Feme, Solbec expected revenue of $5 million in its first 12 months of sales and $20 million in the next 12 months.
“Most biotechs today need to raise funds – we don’t need to raise funds,” Mr Carter said.
“We’ve got roughly $3 mill-ion in the bank and $2 million in tradeable assets. We’ve got 160 million options out there exercisable in June 2003 at 20c. We would expect that those will be well and truly in the money and that they’ll be exercised … so by June next year we’d expect to have $30m in the bank.”
By year’s end Solbec’s Osborne Park laboratory will be expanded to an FDA “com-mercial pilot scale”, manufact-uring plant for the drug product.
The state-of-the-art facility will process 100 tonnes of Devil’s Apple fruit per year.