Q BioMed, Oklahoma Medical Research & Rajiv Gandhi Centre to Develop Chemotherapeutic Technology

Q BioMed, Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) to develop a chemotherapeutic technology to treat liver cancer.

The technology will utilize uttroside B and the compound’s derivatives as a chemotherapeutic agent against hepatocellular carcinoma. The preclinical efficacy of uttroside B, a potent saponin, against liver cancer was recently demonstrated in a November 3, 2016, study published in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal.

The compound has been isolated and characterized from the leaves of Solanum nigrum Linn, a plant widely used in traditional medicine. In the Scientific Reports study, researchers showed that in animal models, uttroside B was 10 times more cytotoxic to the HepG2 liver cancer cell line than the only drug currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for liver cancer.

Uttroside B significantly shrunk tumors in mice bearing human liver cancer xenografts. In addition, in preclinical experiments uttroside B induced cytotoxicity in all liver cancer cell lines, irrespective of their hepatitis B virus status, while being non-toxic to normal immortalized hepatocytes.

Chemotherapeutic options for liver cancer are limited, and the prognosis of patients remains challenging. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, claiming approximately 750,000 lives each year. In the US, the American Cancer Society estimates that 39,000 people will be diagnosed with primary liver cancer in 2017 and that 27,000 will die from the disease this year.

The currently available drug has been shown to increase survival by only a short period of time. That drug also been reported to carry a variety of serious side effects, including increased blood pressure, bleeding problems, decreased blood flow to the heart, and heart attacks.

In the Scientific Reports study, uttroside B was shown to be several times more potent than the currently available drug and did not cause noticeable side effects in vitro or in vivo.

“We are encouraged by the preclinical results we observed in this data and look forward to working with our collaborators at OMRF and RGCB to carry out further preclinical and clinical evaluation of uttroside B,” said Q BioMed Inc. CEO Denis Corin. “Our ultimate goal is to use it as an effective chemotherapeutic against liver cancer, which currently has very few therapeutic options.”

The uttroside B technology is covered by a provisional patent application. To see the full Scientific Reports study, go to: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep36318

Q BioMed Inc. (Q) is a biomedical acceleration and development company. It is focused on licensing and acquiring biomedical assets across the healthcare spectrum. Q is dedicated to providing these target assets the strategic resources, developmental support, and expansion capital the need to ensure they meet their developmental potential, enabling them to provide products to patients in need‏.

OMRF (omrf.org) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human diseases. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as cancer, diseases of aging, lupus and cardiovascular disease.

RGCB is an autonomous national institution fully owned by the Government of India. It does pioneering research in cellular and molecular mechanisms of human animal and plant disease by amalgamating theory, modeling, simulation and experimental science.

Quotient Clinical Expands Into US Through Acquisition of SeaView Research

Quotient Clinical recently announced that it has acquired SeaView Research, expanding its operations into the US. The acquisition combines Quotient and SeaView’s complementary customer portfolios, and strengthens the early phase clinical experience of the combined business, enabling the company to deliver a broader set of services.
SeaView is an expert clinical pharmacology business founded in 1995, with 160 employees across two clinical pharmacology units located in Miami and Jacksonville, FL, and a combined bed capacity of 320. Each of the two facilities is capable of undertaking complex clinical research studies, including first-in-human investigations.

“Establishing an operational footprint in the US is an important milestone in the development of our business. We can now offer our customers the option to undertake their early phase clinical research either in the UK or the US, and the acquisition of SeaView is a key component of our plan to replicate our Translational Pharmaceutics platform in the US,” said Mark Egerton, Chief Executive Officer, Quotient.

Quotient’s proprietary and unique Translational Pharmaceutics platform integrates clinical testing with formulation development and real-time GMP manufacturing. This innovative approach is increasingly recognized in the industry for reducing clinical development timelines and cutting associated costs. Over 100 leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies have chosen Translational Pharmaceutics to accelerate the development of their products for a variety of indications and routes of delivery.

“We are excited to join forces with Quotient and are looking forward to working together to continue growing the business. The combination of the Quotient and SeaView businesses enables us to deliver full service support to our customers, and the market potential for Translational Pharmaceutics in the US is significant,” added Stuart Harris and Celina Alvarez, Co-founders of SeaView.

Quotient Clinical offers unique services – based on its Translational Pharmaceutics platform – that integrate formulation development, real-time drug product manufacturing, and clinical testing, significantly reducing the time and cost of bringing a drug to market. For more than 25 years, Quotient Clinical has brought innovation to drug product development programs for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers worldwide through the integration of formulation development, real-time GMP manufacturing and clinical testing activities. The company is based in purpose-built facilities in the UK, employing over 350 staff and offering a full range of support services, from study set-up right through to data analysis and reporting. For more information, visit http://www.quotientclinical.com.