Targeted Photodynamic Therapy in Corfu and Wroclaw 2009
London; June 22nd 2009
The Imperial College London-based spin-out company PhotoBiotics have been invited to present their latest research findings on targeted photodynamic therapy (t-PDT) at two of this year's prestigious symposia:-
- The 26th International Conference on Advances in the Application of the Monoclonal Antibodies in Clinical Oncology and Symposium on Cancer Stem Cells held this year on the island of Corfu, Greece, between 22nd-24th June 2009. Dr Mahendra Deonarain, PhotoBiotics' chief scientist, will give a talk entitled "Next Generation Photodynamic Therapy" on Tuesday 23rd June.
- In September, Dr Deonarain will be presenting to the 13th Congress of the European Society for Photobiology (this year in conjunction with the 2nd Conference of the European Platform for Photodynamic Medicine (EPPM)) being held in Wroclaw Poland 5th-10th September. His gives his talk entitled "Targeted PDT with improved pyropheophorbide-a derivatives" on Monday 7th September around 3.35pm during the Immuno-PDT Symposium.
As currently practised, photodynamic therapy (PDT) destroys tumours using visible laser light and photosensitisers; a process with many advantages over conventional cancer treatments. However, the photosensitisers are sometimes difficult to deliver, clear slowly from the blood, and are not selectively targeted. This can make patients photosensitive long after treatment.
The Imperial/PhotoBiotics team's latest work builds on earlier success conjugating photo-sensitising molecules to antibody fragments, then using the resulting photo-immuno-conjugates (PICs) to specifically target and destroy prostate tumours on illumination with visible laser light.
The two meetings to which PhotoBiotics have been invited to will hear of novel chemical modifications to a common photosensitiser derived from chlorophyll, called PPa, which significantly improve its water solubility, while reducing other unwanted interactions. The resulting PICs derived from conjugating the modified PPa with antibody fragments can target and destroy prostate tumours in vivo (as xenografts in immune-compromised nude mice) with greater efficacy upon PDT than previously achieved by the Imperial/PhotoBiotics team.
"We now know how to use tumour-seeking antibody fragments and highly potent water-soluble light-activated drugs to accurately seek out and safely destroy to cancer sites", says Dr Deonarain. "Improving a standard PDT sensitiser PPa, plus conjugation to an antibody fragment, not only further minimises the risk of healthy tissue being accidentally damaged during treatment, it also maximises the number of cancer cells that can be destroyed."
Notes for Editors
1. For more information please contact: Dr Lionel R Milgrom, PhotoBiotics Ltd Press Office;
Tel: +44 (0)208 450 8760. Mob: +44 (0)7970 852156. Email: media@photobiotics.com
2. 'Targeted photodynamic therapy with multiply loaded recombinant antibody fragments.' International Journal of Cancer 2008; 122: 1155-1163.
3. 'Fluorescence characterisation of multiply-loaded anti-HER2 single-chain Fv-photosensitiser conjugates suitable for photodynamic therapy'. Photochemical and Photobiological. Sciences. 2007; 6: 933-939.
4. 'Innovations in Biotechnology 2008: Development-Stage Companies and Scientific Findings Leading the Way', BioWorld Today, June 2008. http://www.bioworld.com/servlet/com.accumedia.web.Dispatcher?next=S08438_6064.
About PhotoBiotics (see www.photobiotics.com)
Photobiotics is a spin-out company from Imperial College London developing novel biologically-targeted photodynamic therapeutic (t-PDT) agents to specifically target and destroy diseased cells far more effectively than the conventional PDT in current use, so significantly extending market penetration. Potential applications of this new technology include the diagnosis and therapy of cancer, restenosis following angioplasty, various proliferative skin conditions, or as 'irresistible antibiotics' and many more. PhotoBiotics is highly distinctive in possessing a unique integrated multidisciplinary capability involving chemistry; laser physics and biology (Please see the website).
About PDT
Conventional PDT has an established niche in the treatment of certain cancers and in age related macular degeneration (AMD), with product sales in excess of $500m annually. However, conventional PDT's clinical development and use have been slow to evolve owing mainly to the novelty of the treatment regimen and to post-treatment systemic photosensitivity. The photosensitising agent remains in the system for up to six weeks post treatment in some cases, and when it reaches the skin, patients can become exquisitely photosensitive to ambient light even on cloudy days, leading to symptoms akin to acute sunburn in uncovered parts of the body. Photobiotics uniquely targeted approach to PDT will overcome the issue of photosensitivity without compromising efficacy, thus greatly extending the potential of this otherwise superior treatment modality.
For more information please contact:
Dr Lionel R Milgrom, PhotoBiotics Ltd Press Office,
Tel: +44 (0)208 450 8760
Mob: +44 (0)7970 852156
Email: media@photobiotics.com
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