Sirona Biochem Announces Positive Efficacy Results for Skin Lightening Library
Sirona Biochem Announces Positive Efficacy Results for Skin Lightening Library
Momentum Public Relations
Press Release: July 6, 2017
VANCOUVER, BC–(Marketwired – July 06, 2017) – Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX VENTURE: SBM) (FRANKFURT: ZSB)(XETRA: ZSB) (the “Company“) announced positive preclinical efficacy data for its library of skin lightening compounds.
The study was conducted at Bioalternatives in France, a contract research organization specializing in cellular and molecular pharmacology. The study looked at each of six compounds’ ability to inhibit melanin synthesis induced by L-tyrosine for 10 days in normal human epidermal melanocytes. Results showed a significant decrease in melanin synthesis with a similar efficacy across the library. Inhibiting melanin production is the principal mechanism of action for the majority of skin lighteners in clinical use.
“In December 2016, we announced the completion of our skin lightening library, with plans to begin testing in 2017,” said Dr. Howard Verrico, CEO. “The positive efficacy of these compounds adds value to a licensing transaction as it increases the opportunity for commercialization in various markets and therapeutic areas. Moreover, this data will be used to support and strengthen our IP in this area.”
Sirona has shared these results with the multinational companies currently working towards a license to commercialize TFC-1067.
About Sirona Biochem Corp.
Sirona Biochem is a cosmetic ingredient and drug discovery company with a proprietary platform technology. Sirona specializes in stabilizing carbohydrate molecules with the goal of improving efficacy and safety. New compounds are patented for maximum revenue potential.
Sirona’s compounds are licensed to leading companies around the world in return for licensing fees, milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments. Sirona’s laboratory, TFChem, is located in France and is the recipient of multiple French national scientific awards and European Union and French government grants. For more information, please visit www.sironabiochem.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Sirona Biochem cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon current expectations and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of release of the relevant information, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, Sirona Biochem’s forward-looking statements due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Sirona Biochem’s business including, without limitation, statements about: the progress and timing of its clinical trials; difficulties or delays in development, testing, obtaining regulatory approval, producing and marketing its products; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of its products that could delay or prevent product development or commercialization; the scope and validity of patent protection for its products; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and its ability to obtain additional financing to support its operations. Sirona Biochem does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
For more information regarding this press release, please contact:
Christopher Hopton
CFO
Sirona Biochem Corp.
Phone: 1.604.282.6064
Email: chopton@sironabiochem.com
- Published in Life Sciences, News Home, Sirona Biochem
The Fountain of Youth May Be Just Around the Corner In Vancouver
The Fountain of Youth May Be Just Around the Corner In Vancouver
Sirona Biochem makes safer and more effective cosmeceuticals
Vancouver-based Sirona Biochem is on track to crack the global market for skin lightening products, a market that has been predicted by Global Industry Analysts to hit US$23 billion by 2020. If that isn’t enough the company is also developing a product designed to forestall facial aging. Zion Market Research pegs the global anti-aging market at US$216.52 billion by 2021. The Company’s skin lightening products are far safer and far more effective than those which are currently on the market.
In hindsight it is not that surprising that Vancouver is becoming a hotbed of discovery when it comes to turning back the ravages of time. Botox as we know it today for the cosmetics industry, after all, was popularized in Vancouver by the husband and wife team of ophthalmologist Jean Carruthers and dermatologist Alistair Carruthers. They discovered that a toxin named botox helped eradicate the lines and wrinkles caused by aging.
Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V:SBM) is a discovery and development stage biochem company that has developed a proprietary way to treat carbohydrate molecules using fluorination chemistry. This process prevents molecules from breaking down when exposed to enzymes. This now opens the door to developing a new field of therapeutics.
The company also has an anti-aging product based on synthesizing the glycoprotein found in the blood serum of Antarctic water fish and is currently in the testing and validation stage. The glycoprotein helps preserve the fish and its cells from the freezing water. When applied to humans, it helps prevent skin cells from dying, and also protects them from the harsh glare of ultra-violet radiation.
The good news for Sirona, however, doesn’t stop there. The company believes their stabilized carbohydrate molecules have applications in the treatment of cancer, pain, diabetes and inflammation. Sirona has developed an SGLT2 inhibitor as a Type 2 Diabetes treatment. Research and consulting firm Global Data has predicted that the global type 2 diabetes market will almost double from US$31.2 billion in 2015 to US58.7 billion by 2025.
SGLT2 inhibitors are a recent development in the fight against Type 2 diabetes. Most traditional diabetes treatments work by controlling insulin production or regulating blood sugar levels. SGLT2 inhibitors work by acting in the kidneys to reduce the reabsorption of glucose into the bloodstream.
Sirona’s strategy is to do the basic discovery and development work on a given product, and then to license the technique or joint venture it for commercialization, marketing and distribution. In 2014 the company signed a licensing agreement with Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals for the Chinese market. Wanbang will develop and commercialize Sirona’s SGLT2 inhibitor exclusively in the People’s Republic of China. The company also has a licensing agreement with Obagi Medical Products for a skin lightening agent.
Sirona Biochem was founded in 2009 by CEO Dr. Howard Verrico. The first thing Verrico did was to acquire the exclusive global license from TFChem for its proprietary SGLT2 Inhibitor. TFChem is based in Rouen, France. Verrico thought enough of TFChem’s research that he then went on to acquire TFChem as a wholly-owned subsidiary from its founder Dr. Geraldine Deliencourt-Godefroy. She then became Sirona’s Chief Science Officer and largest shareholder. TFChem now acts as Sirona’s research and development laboratory. A respected scientist, Deliencourt-Godefroy has also received a variety of honours in France including the acclaimed Francinov Research and Innovation Medal, the French Ministry of Research Award and the French Senate Award.
The company sees the cosmetic and cosmeceutical industry as its first major market penetration target for two important reasons. The first is that, as noted above, the financial reward for creating a fountain of youth will be immense. Secondly, the amount of regulatory testing for cosmetics is miniscule when compared to that involved in the pharmaceutical industry. The company intends to use the cash flow created by its anti-aging platform and skin colour lightening products, to finance the creation of more traditionally flavoured therapies for things like cell preservation and anti-inflammatories.
The company’s development focus is based on three high-return fields of discovery and development:
- Therapeutics: diabetes, anti-inflammatories and anti-infectives
- Cosmeceuticals: anti-aging and depigmenting agents
- Biological Ingredients: inducers and adjuvants for biological development and preservation.
With an SLGT2 inhibitor in the pre-clinical stage and four cosmetic products in the testing and validation phase, the company has received revenues and will continue to do so in the future from Wanbang for its SLGT2 inhibitor. Sirona also receives revenue from Obagi Medical products for a skin lightener, one of three skin lightening agents under development. It is also working on an acne treatment, an anti-inflammatory and an anti-infective.
Much of Sirona’s work is ground-breaking. Stabilizing carbohydrate molecules opens up new fields for therapeutic interventions and may rejuvenate older treatments which became stalled. Synthesizing the glycoprotein found in the blood serum of Antarctic fish may produce a product that slows down the aging of skin. One way to illustrate its potential value is that when TFChem first synthesized the glycoprotein, cosmetic giant L’Oreal Group, the world’s largest cosmetics company slapped a field-of-use patent on it. As it turns out the first synthesis was not stable, but the later ones were, and L’Oreal was out of luck.
While Sirona is concentrating on developing cosmetic products, it hasn’t neglected the medical side of things. The company has a pipeline of products that are heading towards the market. The anti-aging compound is now in the testing and validation phase.
The company has a 52-week high of $0.20 and a 52-week low of $0.12. As of June 16, 2017, it was trading at $0.17. And if you were wondering, Sirona is the name of the Celtic goddess of healing.
- Published in Bio technology, Blog, Sirona Biochem, Technology
Sirona Biochem Begins Cell Preservation Research
Sirona Biochem (SBM:tsxv) Begins Cell Preservation Research Collaboration With Dr. Caigan Du, University of British Columbia
– Momentum Public Relations – April 11, 2016
Sirona Biochem Corp. (SBM:tsxv) (ZSB:Frankfurt) (ZSB: Xetra) (the “Company“) announces that it has entered into a research collaboration with Dr. Caigan Du of the University of British Columbia to study the effects of new compounds, produced by Sirona’s subsidiary TFChem, for use in the preservation of red blood cells (RBC) and other cell lines.
Studies will be performed to evaluate improvement in the quality of RBCs after hypothermic storage and cryopreservation. Further research is being planned which will involve tissue preservation for applications such as organ transplant. Initial testing will begin in May with results expected in Q4 2016.
“We are thrilled that a team led by Dr. Du will study our compounds in RBC preservation and that he has accepted a position on our Scientific Advisory Board. There is a global unmet need when it comes to storage/shelf life of these blood products,” said Dr. Howard Verrico, CEO.
“Extending the shelf life would greatly improve the ability to use donated blood. Current typical storage of donated blood is limited to 42 days. Extending this will have the potential to save lives at times of disaster, maintain supply of rare blood types and lessen overall blood inventory losses due to storage limitations. As a member of our Scientific Advisory Board, Dr. Du will be able to assist in research and development of multiple commercial indications for our new compounds,” he added.
About Dr. Du
Dr. Caigan Du is a scientist at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and an Associate Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia. He received a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry in UK and postdoctoral training in Immunology in USA. He is interested in the pathogenesis of kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury and transplant rejection, and molecular control of urinary malignancies. He has been studying the impact of kidney donor-derived factors on renal allograft rejection, and the molecular pathways of kidney injury and regeneration in experimental models.
He is also interested in developing medical solution including drugs made from natural compounds for all kinds of health problems, including immune disorders, organ preservation, kidney failure and urinary cancer. He is the PI of many grant supports from the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
About Sirona Biochem
Sirona Biochem is a cosmetic ingredient and drug discovery company with a proprietary technology platform developed at its laboratory facility in France. The Company specializes in the stabilization of carbohydrate molecules, with the goal of improving compounds’ efficacy and safety. Sirona Biochem’s compounds are patented as new chemical entities for maximum commercial protection and revenue potential. Newly developed compounds are licensed to leading companies around the world in return for licensing and milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments. TFChem, Sirona Biochem’s wholly-owned French laboratory, is a recipient of multiple French national scientific awards and a European Union and French government grant.
For more information please visit www.sironabiochem.com.
- Published in Blog, Life Sciences, News Home, Sirona Biochem