HIV killer "the Holy Grail"
BUSINESS
Wednesday, July 18, 2001
HIV killer 'the Holy Grail'
By DAN HEALING, EDMONTON SUN
Altachem Pharma claimed yesterday to have landed the "Holy Grail" of blood
banking - rights to a compound which can instantly kill viruses like HIV and
hepatitis B.
The Edmonton company hopes to hire four more staff over the next three months to
do toxicology tests on the product and to proceed to sell it through a partner, said R.
Madiylakan, executive vice-president of research.
"Unlike other compounds that take a few minutes to kill the virus, this takes
seconds," he said yesterday.
In a release, Altachem president Warren Jackson described the product, Bionex, as
a "Holy Grail." Altachem has a letter of intent to buy the rights in return for 400,000
common shares and future royalty payments.
Madiylakan said Bionel, the private Maryland biotech company that discovered
Bionex, was attracted to Altachem because of the drug manufacturing plant it
operates with a partner in China.
"The biggest market for this product is in China," he said. "In Canada there are
restrictions on who can give blood. There are none in China."
The product, a variety of which is now used in Europe inside of rubber gloves,
would be present in bags used to collect blood, instantly killing any live viruses.
Madiylakan said use of the product to sterilize surgical instruments could start in six
months, but blood banking sales are at least two years from reality. |
