What is Biomoda's discovery:
CORPORATE OVERVIEW:Biomoda, Inc. is the exclusive worlwide licensee of
patents for in vitro diagnostic and in vivo diagnostic and therapeutic
applications of synthetic TCPP, a photoreactive porphyrin compound.HOW
DOES TCPP TECHNOLOGY WORK?:Porphyrin molecules are essential for the
survival of all human cells. Biomoda1s exclusively licensed porphyrin,
TCPP, is rapidly taken up by cancer cells, particularly lung cancer
cells. In addition, TCPP has two other important characteristics: 1) it
fluoresces red when exposed to ultraviolet light; and 2) it binds
radioactive copper very tightly. One licensed patent shows that TCPP
without bound copper can be used to detect lung cancer in sputum
samples. Sputum samples, including cells from throughout the lung, can
be treated with a special preservative and exposed to TCPP on a
microscope slide. The slide is then washed and illuminated with
ultraviolet light under a fluorescence microscope, causing any present
cancer cells to fluoresce intensely red and improving one1s ability to
detect abnormal cells in an otherwise normal sample. If a patient1s
sputum contains cells that stain with TCPP, the second patent indicates
that the patient1s lung cancer can be treated with radioactive copper
bound tightly to TCPP. The TCPP can carry the radioactive copper to the
lung cancer cells in the patient1s body. The lung cancer cells will be
killed when the radioactive copper bound to TCPP concentrates in the
cancer cells.POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES OF TCPP TECHNOLOGY:Using TCPP
technology may offer several significant advantages over existing
diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for detecting and treating lung
cancer, including:
Sensitivity - When used as an in vitro diagnostic, TCPP may be
significantly more sensitive than the tests now used to detect lung
cancer. This may result in detecting lung cancer earlier, while it is
still in a more treatable stage. Also, TCPP staining is sufficiently
simple that it may be successfully used as a screening test. No
screening test presently exists for lung cancer.
Reduced Medical Costs - The ability to standardize the early diagnosis
of lung cancer from sputum samples should permit earlier, less costly
treatment at a more treatable stage in the disease. This in turn should
reduce indirect costs due to disability or death.
More Effective Therapy - Since the same molecule may be used to diagnose
the disease in vitro as it is in vivo, the treatment is more likely to
be effective than when doctors diagnose with one technology and treat
with a completely different technology.CURRENT STATE OF TECHNOLOGY:When
lung cancer is detected early, while it is still localized, five-year
survival is 46%, as opposed to only 13% when lung cancer is detected
later. Unfortunately, lung cancer is detected early only 16% of the
time. There are currently no large-scale screening programs for lung
cancer in place because too few laboratory technicians have the skills
necessary to diagnose lung cancer from classically-prepared and stained
sputum samples. Current methods of cytological detection depend on human
visualization and subjective interpretation or pattern recognition to
locate abnormal cells in the presence of a large variety of normal
cells. There is virtually no standardization, and automation of readings
is still in development.TECHNOLOGY PORTFOLIO:Biomoda, Inc. holds the
exclusive worldwide license to TCPP, a porphyrin compound, with patent
protection for diagnosing and treating lung cancer.
TCPP may be used to diagnose lung cancer in sputum samples by utilizing
a microscope slide preparation and staining technique, followed by
illumination with an ultraviolet light source viewed through a
fluorescence microscope. This procedure is amenable to automation at the
slide preparation, staining and image analysis steps.
TCPP complexed with radioactive copper (67-Cu or 64-Cu TCPP) may be used
to identify or treat lung cancer in the patient (in vivo). 64-Cu can be
detected by PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanning, and 67-Cu may
be used for in vivo diagnosis or staging of malignancy by virtue of its
emission of gamma radiation, viewed using a gamma camera. Higher
specific activity of 67-Cu could be used to treat lung cancer, taking
advantage of the beta particles emitted by the copper which should kill
the cells that concentrate the 67-Cu TCPP complex. |
