MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Propanc Biopharma, Inc. (OTCQB: PPCB) (“Propanc” or the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel cancer treatments for patients suffering from recurring and metastatic cancer, today announced that a Notice of Allowance has been received from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for claims involving a novel method to treat cancer stem cells (CSC’s). The allowed US patent protects proprietary claims capturing methods and uses for pancreatic proenzymes to treat cancer by specifically targeting and eradicating CSCs.
CSCs represent only a small fraction of the cell population within a tumor and can remain dormant for periods of time, thereby evading standard treatment approaches like radiation and chemotherapy that target dividing cells. Therefore, a priority for improving treatment and reducing risk of relapse is to develop a strategy that targets CSC eradication, whilst leaving healthy cells alone. This continues to be a specific area of focus as the Company’s lead product candidate, PRP, advances to a First-In-Human study for the treatment of patients with late-stage solid tumors.
The allowed patent, citing the novel CSC treatment method, is currently one of 4 patent families, consisting of 65 patents either in force, or pending in global jurisdictions. It is the first allowed by the USPTO covering a method of minimizing the progression of cancer in a patient by administering a therapeutically effective amount of two proenzymes, trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen, thereby preventing metastatic cancer in the patient by targeting and eradicating CSCs from solid tumors.
“The allowance of this patent by the USPTO is a significant step for our intellectual property portfolio in the biggest global healthcare market in the world and confirms our claims cover a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment and prevention of metastatic cancer, which is the main cause of patient death for sufferers,” said James Nathanielsz, Propanc’s Chief Executive Officer. “It is especially important to continue to expand and grow our intellectual property portfolio, as we advance further along the drug development pathway. Additional patent applications are anticipated and we are excited about the growth and commercial potential of our portfolio with the goal of creating significant, long term shareholder value.”
A point of difference from other CSC therapies is the ability of the Company’s technology to differentiate cancer stem cells back towards exhibiting normal behavior, so they become benign and die naturally, rather than directly killing CSCs. This means that CSCs are selectively targeted based on the proteins they express, which healthy cells do not, resulting in leaving healthy stem cells alone. Therefore, based on scientific evidence to date, PRP is considered less toxic compared to standard treatment approaches. PRP is a mixture of two proenzymes, trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen from bovine pancreas administered by intravenous injection. A synergistic ratio of 1:6 inhibits growth of most tumor cells. Examples include kidney, ovarian, breast, brain, prostate, colorectal, lung liver, uterine and skin cancers.
About Propanc Biopharma, Inc.
Propanc Biopharma, Inc. (the “Company”) is developing a novel approach to prevent recurrence and metastasis of solid tumors by using pancreatic proenzymes that target and eradicate cancer stem cells in patients suffering from pancreatic, ovarian and colorectal cancers. For more information, please visit www.propanc.com.
The Company’s novel proenzyme therapy is based on the science that enzymes stimulate biological reactions in the body, especially enzymes secreted by the pancreas. These pancreatic enzymes could represent the body’s primary defense against cancer.
To view the Company’s “Mechanism of Action” video on its anti-cancer lead product candidate, PRP, please click on the following link: http://www.propanc.com/news-media/video
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements,” which may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as “may,” “might,” “will,” “will likely result,” “would,” “should,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “continue,” “target” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These factors include uncertainties as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern absent new debt or equity financings; the Company’s current reliance on substantial debt financing that it is unable to repay in cash; the Company’s ability to successfully remediate material weaknesses in its internal controls; the Company’s ability to reach research and development milestones as planned and within proposed budgets; the Company’s ability to control costs; the Company’s ability to obtain adequate new financing on reasonable terms; the Company’s ability to successfully initiate and complete clinical trials and its ability to successful develop PRP, its lead product candidate; the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain patent protection; the Company’s ability to recruit employees and directors with accounting and finance expertise; the Company’s dependence on third parties for services; the Company’s dependence on key executives; the impact of government regulations, including FDA regulations; the impact of any future litigation; the availability of capital; changes in economic conditions, competition; and other risks, including, but not limited to, those described in the Company’s periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligations to update these statements except as may be required by law.
