Helix transdermal vaccine successful; private financing
Helix Biopharma Corp HBP
Shares issued 13,776,415 Jan 27 close $0.42
Thu 28 Jan 99 News Release
Dr. Marianna Foldvari reports
Vaccines have been successfully delivered transdermally in mice using the
Biphasix delivery system.
These vaccine results complement the company's announcement in November
1998 that the Biphasix delivery system had been successfully used to
deliver a large therapeutic protein, interferon-a, transdermally without
the need for an injection.
Furthermore, vaccine research using proprietary lipid-based delivery
systems clearly showed that a single intranasal immunization generated a
significant immune response in mice. When these immunized mice were exposed
to the disease, they were 15 times more likely to survive than the mice
which were not immunized.
These results signify a major step forward in the development of the
company's delivery systems for human and veterinary vaccine applications.
The market for vaccines is currently in excess of $4-billion (U.S.)
worldwide and growing at more than 10 per cent per year.
With most vaccines and macromolecular therapeutics being delivered by
injection, and more than 500 such large molecules and vaccines in the
regulatory process in the United States, the Biphasix delivery system has
the potential to replace or complement injections by taking molecules of
varying sizes into and through the skin.
Private Financing
Two private investors have agreed to invest directly into Helix's
subsidiary company, Sensium Technologies Inc. The investors have committed
$750,000 for a 20 per cent minority interest in Sensium, to be paid in
equal monthly instalments over the next 10 months, beginning January 1999.
These funds will be used to accelerate the development of Sensium's
proprietary advanced molecular sensor technology.
This financing is the first step in management's plan to make Sensium
autonomous and self-financing.
This technology is being applied to the development of a miniaturized,
self-contained biosensor with potential uses in medical diagnostics and
pathogen detection. |
