Bulletin

Issue: April 2005

News

Half Million Dollars for orally-delivered Peptides

Peptide Solutions Pty Ltd, a 'spin-out' company from La Trobe University's School of Molecular Sciences in August, 2003, has secured a $250,000 Biotechnology Innovation Fund (BIF) Grant from AusIndustry.

The grant was one of 13 to Victorian Biotech companies totalling $2.9 million from the final round of the BIF Grants announced at the AusBiotech Conference in November 2004.

A significant proportion of the matching funds required for Peptide Solutions Grant was provided by Mr Bill Angelidis and Mr Gerard Mullins, directors of ASTA Solutions which, like Peptide Solutions, is located on La Trobe University Research and Development Park managed by Ms Sue Bell.

Another new development is the appoint-ment of pre-eminent peptide chemist Dr Denis Scanlon to Peptide Solutions as Technology and Research Director.

Dr Scanlon’s appointment, and the new research funds, are expected to progress the development of the company’s technology which is targeting ‘drug’ stabilisation to provide for improved efficacy and, potentially, oral delivery of peptide drugs.

The ‘technology’ which is the subject of the BIF program was developed by La Trobe PhD graduate, Dr Lou Aurelio, under the joint supervision of Associate Professor Bob Brownlee and Dr Andrew Hughes from the Department of Chemistry.

Peptide Solutions acquired the commercialisation rights and is progressing a patent application for this proprietary ‘technology platform’ for use in synthesis of modified peptides and proteins. The primary objective is to demonstrate improved peptide drug efficacy. According to Peptide Solutions’ managing director, Dr Philip McDonough, “the ‘technology’ should exhibit significant advantages in terms of cost and ability to achieve an increase in efficacy from peptides and, potentially, enable oral delivery of peptides.”

He said “Peptide Solutions anticipated demonstrating the first application of its drug modification technology using a Malaria inhibitor peptide discovered in the laboratory of Dr Mick Foley of the Department of Biochemistry.”

He believes that a successful outcome will put the La Trobe team on a par with other companies seeking to develop oral peptide drugs. ‘It is an initiative that is tremendously exciting for drug and delivery systems development and the Australian biotechnology industry,’ Dr McDonough said.

The problem with peptide drugs stems from the fact that they are frequently destroyed by the body’s normal ‘defence’ mechanisms before they can achieve the desired pharmacological effect. Because of this their use in humans has been limited. Concomitantly, they cannot be taken orally, i.e. as a pill, because the gastrointestinal tract has evolved to digest peptides and proteins.

Peptide Solutions’ technology will enable re-engineering of peptides to stabilise them to limit or prevent their breakdown in the body/gut, potentially making them easier to administer and more efficacious.

Dr McDonough is currently seeking collaborative opportunities with Biotech-nology and Pharmaceutical companies that have stability issues with commercially valuable peptides, or are seeking to modify and “evergreen” current peptide drugs. This will enhance both their therapeutic value and their ability to be taken orally. Areas of specific and immediate interest to Peptide Solutions are peptide drugs for treatment of conditions such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr McDonough said that Peptide Solutions would like to see ongoing collaboration between the University and the company in a number of forms including postgraduate research, applications for research grants and contract research.

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