Albert Sasson Medical Biotechnology

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.Yondelis could be an alternative therapy and new studies were be-ing designed.Despite this blow, PharmaMar is being consolidated and isreally innovative in its development of drugs derived from marine organ-isms.New compounds that also have a novel anti-tumour mechanismmay pave the way for new modes of action against tumorous cells.Thenear future will tell if PharmaMar can succeed in what is generally con-sidered a risky venture.New Zealand has an extensive coastline and diverse and unique algalflora, including 800 known species of seaweeds.This represents an amplesource for exploration.Industrial Research Limited (IRL) and New Zea-land Pharmaceuticals (NZP) formed a strategic alliance with the Hobart-based company Marinova Pty Limited, with a view to commercializingcompounds derived from marine organisms for pharmaceutical and nu-traceutical applications.The IRL was set up in 1992, following the re-structuring of the Directorate of Scientific and Industrial Research.Thisrestructuring resulted in the formation of several Crown Research Insti-PROMISING AREAS AND VENTURES 91tutes.The IRL is owned by the New Zealand government and overseenby a board of directors, which includes representatives from several high-profile companies based in New Zealand.The IRL undertakes contractR&D projects in technology areas, including advanced materials, bio-chemical engineering, and complex measurements and analysis, along-side commercialization activities.It also has the capability of specialtymanufacturing within IRL Biopharm and IRL Glycosyn.The carbohy-drate chemistry team at IRL is recognized as a world leader in the devel-opment of high-value carbohydrate compounds (Boyd, 2003).With new facilities, backed by 20 years in seaweed research, the de-velopment of novel compounds has now become commercially viablethrough the strategic alliance between New Zealand and Tasmania.Thus, NZP now manufactures Marinova s bioactive compounds and is ashareholder in Marinova.This close relationship brings significant exper-tise in process development under good manufacturing practice stan-dards.The focus of the seaweed programme of Marinova, IRL and NZPis on high-value products.Initial commercialized products are for thedietary supplements market, with the prospects of launching botanicaldrugs in the short to medium term under a new US Federal Drug Admin-istration (FDA) category (Boyd, 2003).The research focus to date has been the polysaccharides (derived fromhydrocolloids) in seaweeds (often sulphated galactans), which have a longhistory of being used commercially.Agars, carrageenans and alginatesare all useful compounds that cannot be made artificially, so they haveto be extracted from the cell walls of seaweeds.The New Zealand gov-ernment has recognized the potential for creating a new high-value in-dustry from seaweeds.This is reflected in a commitment of NZ$7 millionover six years to the IRL, leveraging the substantial investments ofMarinova, NZP, other research providers and industry stakeholders(Boyd, 2003).Late in 2002, following five years of development, Marinova, IRL andNZP commercialized a novel compound a polysaccharide fromthe sea-weed Undaria pinnatifida, an introduced species harvested in Tasmania.Native to Japan and parts of Asia, where it is commonly known as wa-kame, Undaria has been introduced to New Zealand, South Americaand parts of Europe.Marinova, through its subsidiary Marine ResourcesPty, developed a commercial harvesting and processing model builtaround containment of this invasive species of seaweed.The TasmanianDepartment of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, togetherwith the Department of Economic Development, has been fostering thisnew industry.Commercial harvesting of Undaria began in late 2002 andover 200 tons of biomass were harvested by divers during the first com-mercial harvest season, compared with previous pilot quantities of up to92 MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY60 tons. Viracle with GFSTM was Marinova s first product, entering theUS market as an anti-herpes therapy.Galacto Fucan Sulphate (GFSTM)was proven a potent anti-viral in vitro and in human pilot trials.Mari-nova has made considerable investment in clinical research, trials andregulatory compliance with a number of markets, including Canada, theUnited Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.The company planned tohave a presence in these markets in 2004 (Boyd, 2003).The focus of the Tasmanian and New Zealand researchers includes anevaluation of marine biological diversity, marine pest strategies, marinefarming of high-value seaweeds and biosafety.NZP has been purifyingbiochemicals from natural raw materials since the early 1970s.It suppliesa range of biochemicals to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, health food andbiotechnology industries and over of 95 per cent of its products are ex-ported.NZP has changed its focus from the production of biochemicalsfrom meat industry by-products, to those derived from plant materials.NZP has a long history of manufacturing polysaccharides, including hep-arin and the related glycosaminoglycan, chondroitin sulphate.Experiencein the extraction and purification of these animal-derived polysaccharidesled the company to develop new technologies for extracting marine poly-saccharides in conjunction with Marinova.NZP was able to quickly con-vert the initial information provided by Marinova and IRL into a com-mercial extraction process for Undaria harvested in Tasmania (Boyd,2003).New Zealand s commitment to creating a high-value industry fromseaweeds highlights the importance of biotechnology to this country, asshown in the report Growing the biotechnology sector in New Zealand Aframework for action , presented to the government and released tothe public on 6 May 2003 by the Biotechnology Task Force [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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