Q. corporatefile.au - What do you believe are the key factors which differentiate Bionomics from other small cap biotech companies and what will trigger your success?
A. Bionomics MD & CEO Deborah Rathjen - In aspiring to build a company valued at $200 million in three years??™ time, we have deliberately set ourselves an ambitious target, but it is an appropriate one for us given our accelerated development strategy, our ability to leverage our bases in the US and Europe to access international markets, our key elements for success and the assets we??™ll be developing over the coming three years.
There will be three key elements to our success: our strong intellectual property (IP) base, our scientific strength in our core areas of central nervous system (CNS) disorders and cancer where we have competitive advantages, and our people who have proven experience in developing a small cap biotech company into a large cap company.
In relation to our strong IP and proprietary technology base, we hold patents and patent applications relating to over 600 genes and specific therapeutic and diagnostic applications. We aim to leverage our expertise and IP to generate both near term and longer term revenues.
Our R&D focuses on the discovery and development of therapeutics for serious conditions such as epilepsy, anxiety and breast cancer. We have two proprietary discovery platforms: ionXR, used to identify genetic targets for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, and AngeneTM, used to identify cancer drug prospects based on angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels).
On people, we have a highly-regarded scientific team, a management team with extensive commercial experience in biotech and pharmaceutical companies, a well-credentialed board comprising some of the leading biotech people from the US as non-executive directors, and a very active scientific advisory board which includes Dr Errol DeSouza and Dr Timothy Harris who have proven experience in building shareholder value.
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"Thyroid hormone and estrogen both share similar pathways in regulating proliferation and growth in the target cells, including cancer cells. This well known phenomenon of cross-talk between the receptor of these hormones may promote or inhibit thereby determining the "fate" of a cell towards either a regulated growth or a cancer," he says. "If results of a planned M. D. Anderson prospective study bear out this conclusion, then it may be possible to design a treatment that specifically and narrowly targets thyroid hormone receptors, which might provide enough influence on the target cells to help prevent breast cancer - perhaps even serving as a complement to tamoxifen," Cristofanilli says.
Even before this research is concluded, Cristofanilli believes that, as a first step, all women diagnosed with breast cancer should have their thyroid function tested to detect common disorders - namely hyper- or hypothyroidism - so that women with both conditions can be closely monitored.
Nuclear receptors for thyroid hormone and estrogen are part of the "superfamily" of receptors that contribute to control cell growth and differentiation. Hormones must bind to this family of important proteins to exert their functions, and depending on the hormone to which they bind, can either stimulate or inhibit the growth of cells, Cristofanilli says.
Estrogen controls growth of female reproductive tissues, such as is found in the breasts, and thyroid hormones control energy metabolism in tissue.
Hypothyroidism - a condition estimated to affect approximately 20 percent of older women - is produced when the thyroid gland, located in the front of the neck, fails to produce enough thyroid hormone. Insufficient levels of specific types of thyroid hormone may affect all body functions, and can slow patient functioning, causing mental and physical sluggishness.
Other researchers contributing to the M. D. Anderson study include: Gabriel Hortobagyi, M.D., chairman of the Department of Breast Medical Oncology; Richard Theriault, D.O.; Therese Bevers, M.D.; Sara Strom, Ph.D.; Savitri Krishnamurthy, M.D.; Yuko Yamamura; Shu-Wan Kau; Modesto Patangan; and Limin Hsu.
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