Sunshine Biopharma Targets Pancreatic Cancer as Second Indication for Clinical Trials of Adva-27a Compound
January 21 2014 - 7:07AM
Marketwired
Sunshine Biopharma Targets Pancreatic Cancer as Second Indication
for Clinical Trials of Adva-27a Compound
MONTREAL, QC--(Marketwired - Jan 21, 2014) - Sunshine Biopharma
Inc. (OTCQB: SBFM), a pharmaceutical company focused on the
research, development and commercialization of drugs for the
treatment of various forms of cancer, today announced that it is
now targeting pancreatic cancer as a second indication for
Adva-27a, the Company's flagship anticancer drug candidate. As
previously announced (see press release dated June 4, 2013),
Adva-27a, a Topoisomerase II inhibitor, was found to be effective
at destroying cells of the very aggressive pancreatic cancer cell
line, Panc-1. Adva-27a was able to kill these cells with an
IC50 of approximately 4 micromolar, a pharmacologically very
favorable drug concentration. Based on initial data, the
Company is moving forward with intentions to conduct a Phase I
clinical trial of Adva-27a for pancreatic cancer in parallel to the
planned Phase I clinical trial of Adva-27a for breast cancer that
is scheduled to be hosted at McGill University's Jewish General
Hospital in Montreal.
"As we work towards completing the process of re-domiciling the
Company to Canada and conducting the requisite IND-enabling
toxicology studies of Adva-27a, we are now proceeding with
additional research centered on pancreatic cancer as a second
indication," said Dr. Steve N. Slilaty, Chief Executive Officer of
Sunshine Biopharma. "Pancreatic cancer represents an area of
tremendous unmet medical need and significant market
opportunity. Our research to date indicates that Adva-27a has
the potential to become a new therapy option for patients suffering
this deadly form of cancer."
About Pancreatic Cancer Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor
prognosis. Most pancreatic cancer patients will die within one year
of diagnosis. Cancer of the pancreas is the fourth most common
cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. According to
the American Cancer Society, an estimated 45,220 new cases of
pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2013.
Approximately 95% of pancreatic tumors are of the adenocarcinoma
type, arising within the exocrine component of the pancreas where
various digestive enzymes are produced. The remaining 5% arise from
the islet cells and are classified as neuroendocrine tumors. The
islet cells produce important hormones such as insulin, which
regulates the sugar levels in the blood. Both types are very
aggressive and respond poorly to standard chemotherapy drugs. In
contrast to the downward trend in death rates for most major cancer
types, death rates due to pancreatic cancer have been slowly
increasing in the U.S. over the past decade. This, together with
the lack effective therapy, underscores the need for major new drug
development efforts to reverse these trends.
About Adva-27a Adva-27a is Sunshine Biopharma's lead anticancer
compound, a small molecule that has recently been shown to be
effective at killing multidrug resistant breast cancer cells,
small-cell lung cancer cells, uterine sarcoma cells and pancreatic
cancer cells (Published in ANTICANCER RESEARCH, Volume 32, Pages
4423-4432, October 2012). Adva-27a is currently in the
IND-Enabling stage of development. The original U.S. patent
covering Adva-27a was issued on August 7, 2012 under U.S. patent
number 8,236,935.
About Sunshine Biopharma Inc. Sunshine Biopharma is an early
stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development
and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of various forms
of cancer. Sunshine Biopharma recently announced that it has
initiated IND-Enabling studies for its lead antitumor compound,
Adva-27a, which is currently targeted for multidrug resistant
cancer.
Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements To the extent that
statements in this press release are not strictly historical,
including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy,
outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals,
future financial conditions, future collaboration agreements, the
success of the Company's development, events conditioned on
stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events,
such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this
release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from the statements
made.
For Additional Information Contact: Camille Sebaaly CFO Sunshine
Biopharma Inc. Direct Line: 514-814-0464
camille.sebaaly@sunshinebiopharma.com www.sunshinebiopharma.com