The new class of protein-based drugs, called Phylomer, has been developed by Phylogica, the first spin out company from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, headed by Professor Fiona Stanley.
Phylogica announced to the Australian Stock Exchange today that it has signed a development agreement with the McComb Foundation, headed by burns specialist and 2005 Australian of the Year, Clinical Professor Fiona Wood. The deal will progress the use of the cell protection Phylomers in the treatment of burn injury.
Phylogica CEO Dr Stewart Washer said preliminary research results look promising.
"One of the major problems with burns is that the time taken to heal often leads to severe scarring. What we've seen in early experiments is that the Phylomers seem to assist cells in reinfiltrating the burn area and to re-grow healthy tissue, reducing the time taken to heal," Dr Washer said.
"Obviously challenges remain to progress these early experiments to a stage where we can see how it assists burns patients, and that's where the collaborations with Clinical Professor Fiona Wood and the McComb Foundation will prove so valuable."
Clinical Professor Wood said she was very impressed by the potential of the Phylomer drugs.
"We always say that the quality of the scar needs to be worth the pain of survival. Here we're talking about compounds that could potentially limit the extent of the burn injury as well as helping to reduce scarring," she said.
"It's important to remember that this project is in its early stages, but certainly we are very excited by the preliminary data and keen to explore it."
Phylomers are a unique set of small protein fragments identified and owned by Phylog
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Contact: Tammy Gibbs
61-289-489-7963
Research Australia
8-Dec-2005