Covington's Bexion Pharmaceuticals Selected by National Cancer Institute for Collaborative Study

Bexion Pharmaceuticals has been selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for research collaboration to study Bexion's cancer nanotherapy treatment for solid tumors using tiny tubes as a means of delivering medication. The research will be conducted by the NCI's Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL), part of a major program, the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, to advance the medical applications of nanotechnology.

The National Cancer Institute established the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory in 2005 — in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — to perform preclinical efficacy and toxicity testing of nanoparticles.

The initial NCL efforts will focus on the characterization of Bexion's product for its absorption, distribution and toxicity properties in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The intent of these studies is to produce data for Bexion to support its filings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The cost of these studies is paid for by the NCL. The agreement is part of NCI's Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative, which seeks to accelerate the delivery of new products to cancer patients.

"We are very excited by this collaboration with NCL, and hope that we will be able to move more quickly into the clinic and commercialization with their help," said Dr. Ray Takigiku, CEO and president at Bexion Pharmaceuticals. "The primary purpose of this effort is to accomplish the work necessary for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application."

Bexion's technology is Saposin C-dioleoylphosphatidylserine (dubbed "SapC-DOPS").  SapC-DOPS is nanovesicle therapeutic for the treatment of glioblastomas, pancreatic cancers and other solid tumors. "Nanovesicles" are extremely tiny tubes that can deliver medication and therapies within the body without themselves being affected by metabolism or other body functions.

SapC-DOPS nanovesicles have preferential affinity for phosphatidylserine-enriched membrane patches, which appear to be common in many types of tumor cells and tumor neovasculature. Bexion's initial studies of SapC-DOPS have shown that the product induces apoptosis in cancer cell lines  — systematic, planned cell death — and also demonstrates in vivo efficacy in multiple tumor models.

Bexion's product will be tested through NCI's Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory's assay cascades for generation of data that may be used in support of an FDA IND submission for SapC-DOPS.

NCL serves as a national resource and knowledge base for all cancer researchers to facilitate the regulatory review of nanotechnologies intended for cancer therapies and diagnostics. NCL, part of NCI's Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, works to accelerate the transition of basic nanoscale particles and devices into clinical applications.

Bexion Pharmaceuticals, based in Covington, Kentucky, is focused on the development and commercialization of innovative cures for cancer. This first product is a platform technology licensed from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. It is a first-in-class biologic with data-driven potential for treatment of a broad range of human cancers.