The money came from the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) at the National Research Council (NRC). This program is designed to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada.
Protox has established a partnership with the NRC Institute of Biological Sciences to produce and test cancer therapeutics that have been created by linking Aerolysin to single chain antibodies that bind to cancer cells. The first application of this approach is the development of Lung-H1 for the treatment of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which accounts for approximately 75% of all lung cancers.
Lung cancer remains the most common malignancy with an estimated 1.04 million new cases and 921,000 deaths each year worldwide. Patients with NSCLC have poor prognosis and most patients do not respond satisfactorily to treatment.
“We are pleased to be the recipient of the IRAP funding in support of our lung cancer program,” said Dr Fahar Merchant, president & CEO of the Company. “On April 5, 2005 we announced that the Company is moving forward with licensing negotiations for the Lung H1 technology from the NRC Institute of Biological Sciences and the University of Victoria Innovation and Development Corporation. This funding will help to drive the development of this promising technology”.