Aurin Biotech Awarded US Patent for Cancer Drug
Aurin Biotech’s ATAC, a drug which has successfully halted the growth of cancerous tumors, was recently awarded a patent (10,004,707 B2) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the treatment of certain types of cancer. A subsidiary application has been filed for all types of cancer.
Developed by Vancouver-based Aurin Biotech, under the leadership of Canada’s most cited neuroscientist, Dr. Patrick McGeer, the aurin tricarboxylic acid complex (ATAC) works by starving a tumor of the blood supply it needs to grow. It does this by preventing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which induces capillary formation. Not only is the mechanism of action of the aurin tricarboxylic acid complex against tumors unique, but no other anti-cancer agents are known to arrest the progression of malignant tumors.
ATAC is orally effective. It passed all first-in-human toxicity tests with no side effects being observed in any of the patients.
According to Dr. McGeer, these results show that ATAC has the potential to dramatically reduce the lethal effect of cancers, which, according to the World Health Organization was responsible for one in six deaths globally (8.8 million people) in 2015.
“The most exciting aspect of this discovery is the unique way in which ATAC works,” says Dr. McGeer. “It starves the tumor of its needed blood supply by preventing the complement system from inducing it. A starved tumor may not disappear, but if it is arrested, it is no longer lethal. In other words, individuals doomed to die from a cancer can be rescued by this drug.”
Testing of ATAC on various types of cancer will continue in order to evaluate its efficacy and establish treatment protocols. Patients can volunteer to participate in clinical trials under the supervision of their doctor.
Vancouver-based Aurin Biotech is a a private, clinical stage company that was founded in 2012 to advance the discoveries made by the McGeer and Associates Laboratory at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Aurin Biotech is dedicated to the development of novel agents with the potential for breakthrough clinical applications. The mission is to help fill the enormous need for safe, effective, and orally available therapeutic agents capable of controlling abnormal activation of the body’s complement system. For more information, visit www.aurinbiotech.com.
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