If the proof is validated, it will solve the ages-old mystery of what provokes black pigment gallstones, and, Nanobac hopes, forge a path to effective early diagnosis and therapy where none are presently available. Results are expected by year-end 2006.
As these gallstones contain material similar to that in kidney stones and breast cancer calcifications, the results could apply to other unsolved calcification-related conditions as well.
The agreement was signed with the scientific team who recently published a paper stating that calcifying nanoparticles, or CNPs, promote black pigment gallstones in rabbits when injected into the gallbladder.
Florida-headquartered Nanobac is the only company with regulatory approval of diagnostics that can accurately identify these calcifying particles. The life sciences company said that it is also expecting to start a clinical trial on a promising therapy for such stone-forming diseases by the fourth quarter of 2006.