Paracelsian Announces Asian Partnership to Apply Its BioFIT(R) Technology In the Development of Herbal Drugs
Tuesday June 3, 12:45 pm ET
ITHACA, N.Y., June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paracelsian, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: PRLN - News) announced today it has signed an agreement with Stanford Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Sichuan Yantian Biopharmaceutical Company Limited to use its BioFIT® herbal testing technology to develop new herbal drugs from traditional Chinese medicines. Paracelsian and its partners will seek patent protection and regulatory approval of these newly developed products prior to marketing them in the U.S. and other markets. The drug discovery and development work will be managed by FusionPharm, Inc., a Hong Kong based company jointly owned by the three partners.
FusionPharm was formed to exploit the opportunity that exists in transforming traditional Chinese herbal compounds into mainstream drugs for the U.S. and global markets. The three shareholders behind FusionPharm see opportunities in areas where traditional Chinese medicines have demonstrated better results than western pharmaceuticals in actual use throughout hospitals in China. The first area of concentration will be anti- depressants, where certain traditional Chinese medicines are claimed to work well in the treatment of moderate to mild cases, and without the many side effects caused by existing drugs. With a global market of $13.5 billion, growing at nearly 20 percent a year, the opportunity in this therapeutic category is significant.
"We are excited about the prospect of using our BioFIT® technology to develop novel herbal drugs," said Noriyoshi Inoue, Chief Executive Officer and President of Paracelsian. "We believe we have an opportunity to elevate herbal medicine to a higher plane, so that consumers and regulatory officials can have the same level of confidence in these products that they have in conventional Western pharmaceuticals," said Mr. Inoue.
"Using proprietary bioassay technology, FusionPharm will test each component in a Chinese herbal drug, both to verify efficacy and to improve and modify the drug," said Martin He, a director of FusionPharm and the Chief Executive Officer of Stanford Pharmaceutical. "This approach provides a basis for improvement, such as substituting more effective components, eliminating objectionable components such as animal parts, and combination with western drugs," added Mr. He. "We will focus initially on depression and prostate diseases, areas we think traditional Chinese medicine holds significant promise," concluded Mr. He.
China has developed thousands of herbal and natural drugs, many of which are claimed to be more effective than western medicine. However, people outside China and Asia often find the basis of traditional Chinese medicine, involving concepts such as Yin and Yang and temperaments, both confusing and difficult to trust. In addition, many people find some of the ingredients used objectionable. To date, apart from herbs being used as health supplements, Chinese drugs have not made many inroads in the mainstream pharmaceutical markets outside China. By contrast, the successful track record of traditional Chinese medicine in China has given rise to many state run traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. FusionPharm's mission is to create western drugs from these herbal medicines that are more consistent with strict FDA criteria, based on exacting biochemical analysis using tools such as Paracelsian's BioFIT® technology, and which can be marketed globally.
Paracelsian (www.paracelsian.com) develops bioassays that test the biofunctionality of herbs and environmental assays that test for the presence of toxins in the environment. By applying Paracelsian's proprietary BioFIT® assays to herbs, the efficacy of Chinese drugs and each of their components can be more precisely assessed. From this data, ingredients can be assembled into new formulae to produce more effective medicines. Paracelsian has licensed its current portfolio of BioFIT® bioassays to FusionPharm.
Sichuan Yantian Biopharmaceutical Company Limited is a leading pharmaceutical innovator in China. Yiantian has a substantial library of Chinese herbal medicines and case studies, and will identify drugs for testing and modification by FusionPharm. Yantian has a large research and development team which will provide FusionPharm with knowledge and expertise about Chinese drugs. In addition, Yantian may facilitate clinical trials and manufacturing of FusionPharm's herbal drug products, making available its laboratories, management team and staff, as well as its expertise in Chinese drug preparation and its access to the Sichuan Herbal Drug Exchange Market for the supply of raw material.
Within one year, FusionPharm expects to establish a drug discovery pipeline of several promising drugs. Using the existing BioFIT® screening technology, FusionPharm has the capability of developing treatments that address depression, benign prostate hyperplasia, immune system support, disturbances in cognitive functions associated with aging, and stamina enhancement.
In order to accelerate time-to-market, FusionPharm intends to test and obtain approval for some of its new drugs in China, where the approval cycle is faster and clinical tests are more economical, while obtaining patents globally to safeguard its intellectual property rights. Successful launch and use in China will form the basis of U.S. FDA application.
Stanford Pharmaceutical is a biotechnology venture company which invests in Chinese and Asia drug related areas.
Notice: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the results of research and development efforts, the effect of regulation by the United States Food and Drug Administration and other agencies, the impact of competitive products, product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future results or events, and one should avoid placing undue reliance on such statements.
Source: Paracelsian, Inc.; Stanford Pharmaceutical; Sichuan Yantian Biopharmaceutical Company
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