Biotechnology start-up Biokine Therapeutics, Ltd. has received a $1.2 million, or NIS 5.25 million, research grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
The funding will support a Phase I/IIa clinical study to test the safety and the efficacy of the company’s flagship product, cancer drug BKT140, which it is developing as a therapeutic treatment for myeloma and other hematological diseases. BioKine announced today the initiation of this study, at the Sheba Medical Center.
In experimental models of chemotherapy treatments and bone-marrow transplants BKT140 caused the death and removal of myeloma and leukemia cells, while simultaneously encouraging the production of normal cells in the bone marrow and their entry into the blood.
According to BioKine, the market for chemotherapy drugs and chemotherapy support drugs totaled $57 billion in 2007. This includes a series of blockbuster products for which sales exceed $1 billion per year.
BioKine founder and CEO Dr. Amnon Peled said, “This is an exciting and significant time for the scientists, development staff, and investors who have supported the project. It is our goal to help cure and relieve the suffering of those struck by this cruel disease. Early data indicates that BKT140 may help us realize this goal."
Biokine was founded in a Weizmann Institute of Science incubator in 2000 by Dr. Amnon Peled, Dr. Lior Carmon, and Dr. Orly Eizenberg.
The firm develops pharmaceuticals that control the activity of receptors for molecules called chemokines, which play a key role in the development of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
The company has raised more than $5 million to date from Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd., Hadasit, private investors, and the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme for research.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 18, 2009
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