International joint venture to focus on brachytherapy
A Singaporean joint venture company focusing on cancer brachytherapy is to explore the application of BioSilicon to make the administration of chemotherapy and radiotherapy more localised. pSiOncology believes that this will not only make the treatments more effective, but will also avoid the systemic or collateral toxicity often seen with the use of conventional radionuclides and cytotoxic drugs and will reduce the incidence of unpleasant side effects such as vomiting and nausea. The technology will have numerous potential applications, including drug delivery, tissue engineering and orthopaedics.
pSiOncology is a joint venture company formed by pSiMedica (itself a joint venture between QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology research organisation, and Australia's pSivida), Singapore General Hospital and Biotech Research Ventures (an affiliate of London-based Cancer Research Ventures, Singapore's National Cancer Centre, and Singapore Technologies). The new company has acquired licensed intellectual property from pSiMedica, based on the use of 'nanostructured' porous silicon (BioSilicon) for specific cancer therapies.
BioSilicon combines biocompatibility and controlled biodegradability and will give pSiOncology a development platform that will allow direct intra-tumoural delivery of active agents. Intra-tumoural delivery (brachytherapy) is a rapidly growing clinical market. US sales currently exceed US$300m (€305m), and the global market is expected to exceed $1bn within five years.
According to Dr Roger Aston, ceo of pSiOncology, BioSilicon offers 'enormous commercial potential' and he expects this application of the technology to progress rapidly to the clinic and successful commercialisation.
'BioSilicon brachytherapy implants carrying radionuclides or chemotherapeutic agents should allow improved targeting, resulting in few side effects and better efficacy,' said Dr Pierce Chow, director of experimental surgery and consultant surgery at Singapore General Hospital. 'This opens many new doors in cancer therapeutics.'
pSiOncology's pre-clinical and clinical activities will be based at Singapore General Hospital and its sister institutions, while manufacture and related pre-clinical support will be sourced out of pSiMedica in the UK.