Mass
High Tech: Aphios licenses potential prostate cancer treatment
from BU
12/13/2005
10:20 AM
Aphios
Corp., based in Woburn, has licensed a Vitamin D analog
from Boston University Medical School for development as
a prostate cancer drug. Financial details of the licensing
agreement were not released.
Prostate
cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men
in the United States, and, according to Aphios officials,
several epidemiological studies have demonstrated that people
who live in higher latitudes are at higher risk of dying
of many cancers, including prostate cancer. It has also
been demonstrated that there is an inverse relationship
between latitude, sun exposure, cutaneous synthesis of Vitamin
D and skin color — for example, African-Americans
living in the Northeastern hemisphere have a higher likelihood
of getting and dying from prostate cancer than those living
in other areas.
Findings
strongly support the use of Vitamin D-based agents for first
line and/or second line therapy for prostate cancer. However,
the use of Vitamin D and analogs that are currently being
tested in the clinic is limited by toxic side-effects of
hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria.
Scientists
at Boston University Medical School have developed a non-toxic
analog of Vitamin D and have demonstrated that this analog
strongly suppressed the proliferation of several prostate
cancer cells and induced apoptosis or cell death of cancerous
cells in in vitro studies.
Aphios
is a specialty pharmaceutical company that is developing
enhanced natural therapeutics for health maintenance and
the treatment of human diseases with a focus on oncology,
infectious diseases, and quality-of-life medicines.
