Sirona Biochem Signs International Partnership Agreement with Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals
Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM) (FSE: ZSB) (OTC: SRBCF) (“Sirona”) announces that, subsequent to the LOI, Sirona and Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals (“Wanbang”) have signed an expanded, international partnership agreement to collaborate on licencing Sirona’s SGLT2 inhibitor, TFC-039, as a pharmaceutical treatment in both animal and human health. The agreement adds human health to the partnership as a result of new licencing opportunities currently in due diligence.
Wanbang (a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical) and Sirona initially signed a licensing agreement for TFC-039, whereby Wanbang obtained the rights to develop the compound as a diabetes treatment in China and Sirona retained the global rights. Sirona has since been in discussions with animal health companies to advance TFC-039 as a treatment for diabetes and chronic kidney disease in companion animals. SGLT2 inhibitors provide an opportunity to treat inflicted animals with an oral medication as opposed to the traditional method of daily insulin injections. More recently, Sirona has entered into due diligence with a large pharmaceutical company with a regional interest in developing the compound for human diabetes.
Together, Sirona and Wanbang share extensive knowledge and scientific results of TFC-039. Partnering will significantly increase the speed to third-party partnerships and commercialization. The shared data spans over 12 years of research and development, and includes in vitro and in vivo preclinical work, multiple clinical studies, advanced manufacturing process development and the ability to commercially manufacture TFC-039.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Wanbang and are excited to combine our two companies’ expertise to license TFC-039. Wanbang has invested millions of dollars into the clinical stage research and development of the manufacturing processes for TFC-039. These pieces of data are critical to large organizations and will greatly increase the opportunities to move forward. The probability of a successful licensing agreement has been made much stronger by leveraging our alliance with Wanbang.” said Dr. Howard Verrico, CEO. “We have had a successful year building Sirona’s pipeline, with positive movement on all projects and we’re looking forward to continuing this success with our SGLT2 inhibitor as well as our antiviral and anti-aging projects in 2023.”
About Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals and Fosun Pharmaceuticals
Wanbang Biopharmaceuticals develops, manufactures, and markets drugs with indications for chronic disease treatment, antibiotics, and other endocrine diseases in China. Founded in 1981, the company is headquartered in Xuzhou, China, and is a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group. Fosun is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry and is regarded as one of the top five domestic pharmaceutical companies in China. For more information on Fosun and Wanbang, please visit www.fosunpharma.com/en.
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.
- Published in News Home, Sirona Biochem
Sirona Biochem Signs Research Collaboration Agreement with International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM) (FSE: ZSB) (OTC: SRBCF) (“Sirona”) is pleased to announce it has entered into a research collaboration with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (“ICGEB”) to advance Sirona’s antiviral library of compounds.
ICGEB will immediately begin screening the library of compounds produced at Sirona’s subsidiary TFChem. The work will be performed at the ICGEB’s Laboratory of Molecular Virology located in Trieste, Italy under the direction of Dr Alessandro Marcello, an expert in human virology. Scientists at ICGEB will test the potential antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) using specialized assays developed at the centre. Previous assays on Sirona’s compounds (performed at another institution) delivered inconclusive results that prevented the company from assessing the value of the suite of compounds. To address this problem, TFChem initiated a collaboration with Dr Marcello’s team at the ICGEB. The testing in his laboratory is ideally suited for this class of antiviral agents and will provide data required to assess the potential of this program.
If the results are promising, it is the intention of the parties to expand the collaboration to further advance these compounds. Ultimately the collective goal is to create new treatment options for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. Sirona’s scientists at TFChem require the added expertise in virology to advance this project and this collaboration is a critical step for this program. An enormous unmet need remains in finding better therapies to treat SARS-CoV-2 and numerous other related viruses.
This initial evaluation is estimated to be completed in approximately 12 weeks. An update will be provided after the tests have been performed and the results have been evaluated.
About the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Established in 1983 as a special project of UNIDO, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology – ICGEB is an independent intergovernmental organization with HQ in Trieste (Italy) and with additional laboratories in New Delhi (India) and Cape Town (South Africa). It counts almost 70 Member States. The ICGEB is a not for profit IGO – any revenues generated are re-invested in research and in the funding programs for capacity building in its Member States. The Vision of the ICGEB is to be the world’s leading intergovernmental Organization for research, training and technology transfer in the field of Life Sciences and Biotechnology. Its Mission is to combine scientific research with capacity enhancement, thereby promoting sustainable global development (www.icgeb.org).
The Molecular Virology Group in Trieste studies the detection and molecular mechanisms of different arboviruses and has been mainly involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic providing support to the ICGEB Member countries. Activities included in the formulation for protocols for SARS-CoV-2 molecular and serological diagnostics, online tutorials and reagents to be able to develop low-cost in-house assays. COVID-19 viruses circulating in several countries have been sequenced for the first time and made available to the scientific community. A pipeline for testing antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 has been set-up allowing the identification of novel drug candidates.
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 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.
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- Published in News Home, Sirona Biochem