• 4/6/2006
  • Adelaide, Australia
  • Christopher Russell
  • The Advertiser (www.theadvertiser.news.com.au)

Adelaide medical research company Bionomics will proceed to human clinical trials of an anti-cancer drug after receiving a $3.7 million grant from the Federal Government.

“The Bionomics project has the potential to become a significant new weapon in the fight against cancer,” federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said in announcing the Commercial Ready grant yesterday.

Bionomics is developing a drug which shuts down the blood supply to a tumour, starving it of oxygen and nutrients.

Bionomics chief executive Deborah Rathjen said yesterday patients in the trial would “have a variety of solid tumours such as breast, colon, head and neck cancers”.

“Our drug has a fairly broad use because it can be used to treat anything that is a solid tumour,” she said. “Solid tumours need a lot of blood vessels to grow and spread.” The drug was a “breakthrough in the treatment of solid tumours”.

Bionomics will lodge applications to conduct the trials in the U.S. and Australia – probably in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide – from next year.

If the trials and subsequent commercial development are successful, the drug could be in use by patients within five to seven years.

The company will match at least dollar for dollar the $3.7 million grant which Dr Rathjen said was “one of the largest biotech grants awarded under Commercial Ready”.