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Treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Enters Pivotal Trial
Pixantrone, a chemotherapy agent for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma developed by UVM Chemistry Department researcher Paul Krapcho and former UVM researcher Miles Hacker, has been approved by the FDA for a pivotal trial. Licensed to Cell Therapeutics, Inc., a Seattle biopharmaceutical firm specializing in oncology products, Pixantrone has shown encouraging results in phase I/II trials with relapsed, aggressive NHL patients.
UVM Licenses Record Number of Inventions
In recent months, UVM has signed a record number of licenses with companies in the United States and around the world. Among them are two non-exclusive agreements which allow additional licensing opportunities.
Recently licensed UVM inventions include:
Agricultural/Life Sciences
Mesoporous silicates.
(Inventor: Dr. Chris Landry, Chemistry Department)
This invention offers the potential to improve chromatography by allowing researchers to synthesize MIO without specialized techniques. A startup company, Apollo, Inc., has licensed the technology and made the samples available to third parties for evaluation.
Symbiotic drink technology.
(Inventor: Dr. Ming Ruo Guo, Food and Nutrition Department)
An enzymatic crosslinking technique significantly increases the viscosity and water holding capacity of goat’s milk yogurt. This technology, which can be used to improve the nutritional value of milk and yogurt based drinks and frozen desserts, has been licensed to Les Produits de Marque Liberte.
Biomedical/Health Sciences
Therapeutic and Diagnostic Needling Device and Method
(Inventors: David Churchill and Helene Langevin, Neurology Department, College of Medicine)
A robotically controlled needling device can be used to perform accupuncture according to predetermined parameters and to measure the physical and electrical characteristics of the needling procedures. Meridian Sensors, a Vermont-based company, has taken an option for this invention, which includes the instrument itself and specific research, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods. Meridian has also applied for SBIR funding to support further refinement of the device.
Recombinant transferrin.
(Inventors: Dr. Nan Mason and Dr. Robert Woodworth (emeritus), Biochemistry Department, College of Medicine.)
Recombinant transferrin is unique in its ability to safely and efficiently bind metals in compounds so that they are not rejected by the body. This has several uses in the healthcare field. Dade Behring has licensed the technology for diagnostic use, and three companies – KS Avencina, Biorexis, and AltaGen – have licensed it for pharmaceutical and cell culture use.
Pixantrone.
(Inventor: Dr. Paul Krapcho, Chemistry Department)
NovusPharma of Milan, Italy, which holds a long-standing license with UVM for patents developed by Dr. Krapcho, has announced that their lead compound, Pixantrone (formerly known as BBR 2778), has entered Phase III clinical trials. In Phase I trials, this treatment for relapsed, aggressive, non-Hodgkins lymphoma showed objective results in 58 percent of patients and achieved a disappearance of the tumor in 32 percent of cases. It is expected to enter the market in 2006. (More…)
3576.
(Inventor: Dr. Paul Krapcho, Chemistry Department)
A new compound for relapsed prostate cancer, 3576 is entering Phase II clinical trials.
UVM Professor Assists Honduran Sugar Farms
March, 2003
Dr. Dan Baker, a professor in UVM’s Community Development and Applied Economics Department, has worked with small farmers in Honduras to develop a better way to refine sugar from cane. Modifying the techniques of maple sugar production, he developed a low-cost way to make small volumes of high-quality sugar. This enables small farmers to enter a market dominated by large sugar farms.
The process offers additional economic and environmental benefits by using sugar cane stalks as fuel. A traditional reliance on wood for fuel has stripped Honduran forests, and old tires have been burned as an alternative, creating air pollution. Sugar cane stalks, in contrast, are readily available to the farmers and ecologically friendly.
Honduras and other South American countries offer U.S. inventors little or no patent protection. Thus, instead of patenting the invention, Dr. Baker sought a way to protect the local farmers from Honduran entrepreneurs who might steal the design. His solution involved wide-scale public disclosure, including submission to academic journals, and publication of a manual for Honduran farmers who wish to build the equipment.
Dr. Baker is now seeking a grant to complete the project.
New-generation Chemotherapy Shows Promise for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
A new chemotherapy treatment, BBR 2778, developed by UVM Chemistry Department researcher Paul Krapcho and former UVM researcher Miles Hacker, has shown positive results in Phase II clinical studies on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Novuspharma, an Italian biotechnology firm that licensed BBR 2778 from UVM, recently announced encouraging results using the treatment as a monotherapy for patients with relapsed, aggressive NHL.
Of 33 patients included in a drug trial conducted in Germany and France, results on 27 patients were available for preliminary analysis. Most of these patients had advanced-stage NHL and a history of relapse following chemotherapy with agents that included doxorubicin, the current gold-standard treatment. Six of the 27 patients responded to treatment, with three having complete disappearance of all lesions and three others having a reduction in lesion size of at least 50 percent.
NHL is one of the most common hematological cancers, with 80,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the U.S. and Europe. While effective chemotherapy regimens exist, many — including doxorubicin — can cause cardiotoxicity above a certain dosage. This limits their usefulness in repeat treatment and relapsed cases. In contrast, BBR 2778 has demonstrated both outstanding therapeutic potential and lower cardiotoxicity in pre-clinical studies.
Additional studies will determine optimal dosage levels of BBR 2778, as well as its safety and effectiveness in combination with other drug therapies.
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