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 Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder, Dr Julian Kenyon MD, MB, ChB, believes the reduced toxicity of PRP compared to standard treatment approaches will impact cancer patient lives significantly. Many standard therapies for advanced cancer urgently need improvement, generally providing modest benefits and frequently causing adverse effects. Propanc’s focus is to provide oncologists and their patients with therapies for metastatic cancer which are more effective than current therapies and have a substantially reduced side effect profile. According to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, for all the advances made in cancer treatment over the past several decades, one statistic has remained unchanged: Metastatic cancer accounts for up to 90% of all cancer deaths in the United States each year.
While surgery is often safe and effective for early-stage cancer, many standard therapies for late-stage cancer inflict too much trauma and provide too little benefit. Side effects include hair loss, nausea and vomiting, as well as blood related (hematological) side effects, which may include a low cell count of infection fighting white blood cells (neutropenia), low red blood cell count (anemia) and low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). In many cases, patients are often admitted to intensive care from the side effects of treatment. Infection is a significant cause of death among cancer sufferers due to immune suppression. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlights the plights of this poor patient population, adding to the stress of undergoing treatment with side effects that can be life threatening. Other examples of effects from standard treatment approaches include skin and gastrointestinal toxicities. Severe side effects such as rupture of the bowel and severe hypertension often requiring emergency treatment.
“We are developing a new cancer treatment to extend life and reduce pain and suffering. Our vision is to provide therapies which are more effective than current therapies and safe, which avoid short-term side effects, such as loss of hair, and long-term effects, such as permanent damage to healthy tissues,” said Dr Kenyon. “Patients need access to a follow up therapy which is safe and effective enough to minimize the risk of recurrence, post-surgery. Whilst such a follow up therapy is worthwhile for some cancers, it is usually moderately effective and often too toxic for long-term use. This is where our lead product candidate, PRP, fits in. We believe it works with a number of cancers over a prolonged period. Also, PRP exhibits minimal side effects, where patients are unlikely to be hospitalized as a result of receiving treatment.”
“Our management team have worked extensively with scientific researchers internationally over the last 15 years and have improved our understanding of the mode of action of PRP and most importantly, enhanced the potency of the formulation to maximize its anti-cancer effects, whilst continuing to exhibit no serious side effects,” said James Nathanielsz, Propanc’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our goal is to offer a cancer treatment which will improve the life expectancy of people with metastatic cancer and at minimal cost in terms of quality of life. We look forward to progressing PRP into a First-In-Human (FIH) study in advanced cancer patients.”
Clinical experience was obtained via a compassionate use study in 46 late-stage cancer patients using a suppository formulation of two proenzymes, trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen. Dr Kenyon concluded that no severe or serious adverse events related to the rectal administration were observed. Patients did not experience any hematological side effects as typically seen with classical chemotherapy regimens. No allergic reactions after rectal administration of suppositories were also observed.
A Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), non-clinical, 28-day repeat dose toxicity study of PRP administered via daily intravenous (I.V.) injections was also conducted. It was concluded that all dose levels were well tolerated. Furthermore, PRP was not associated with any morbidity or clinical signs of toxicity, no macroscopic pathology (disease) findings were considered treatment-related and all observed necroscopy (death related) findings were considered incidental. Also, no major toxicological findings or treatment-related changes were identified in organs examined by pathologists.
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.
