Phynova acquires ONP's drug development candidates

Phynova, based at the Oxford Science Park, Oxford, has acquired two new drug candidates in advanced clinical development from Oxford Natural Products, which was placed into administration in April 2003. The two drug candidates are for the treatment of hepatitis C and dysmenorrhoea, two major global markets with considerable unmet therapeutic needs.

Phynova is a pharmaceutical development company, which specialises in developing drugs from plants. Its drug leads, identified through an agreement with agencies of the Chinese Ministry of Health, are derived from medicines which are in clinical use in China but which have not gone through Western regulatory processes.

Robert Miller, Phynova's md, commented: 'The acquisition of the ONP candidates will take Phynova's pipeline closer to the market by adding two drug candidates which are undergoing clinical trials and which may represent out-licensing opportunities in the near future.

These are two novel and very exciting new drug candidates and the unmet market needs in these therapeutic areas are considerable.'

Phynova's pipeline of new drug candidates

PYN17 for the treatment of hepatitis C is based on a novel formulation of European and Chinese phytopharmaceuticals which individually have been used to treat liver diseases successfully and have a long history of safe use in humans. Current treatments for hepatitis C benefit only a small proportion of patients and are associated with significant side effects. The market for chronic hepatitis C is very substantial with approximately 200 million people infected world-wide and growing rapidly. A Phase IIa proof of principle study for PYN17 led by an internationally recognised hepatitis C expert, Dr. Graham Foster, is ready to start. PYN21 for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea is based on three Chinese phytopharmaceuticals, which have been shown to be clinically effective for gynaecological disorders and have been successfully and safely used in China for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea. Up to 15% of women suffer from this condition severely enough to interfere with their daily activities and the market opportunity is very substantial and relatively untapped. The majority of women self-prescribe taking simple analgesics or NSAIDS, while many take nothing because of fear of unwanted side effects and risks. Phynova is proposing to develop a prescription drug for patients with moderate to severe symptoms and an OTC product for women with mild to moderate symptoms, which together could be worth over £1 billion. A Phase IIa double-blind placebo con-trolled study for PYN21, currently being conducted in Holland, is near completion. PYN5 is for the treatment of respiratory tract infections such as common colds, flu, chronic bronchitis and pneumonia including Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) i.e. severe lung infections, which are a result of primary and secondary bacterial and viral infections associated with flu, pneumonia, bronchitis and Respiratory Synctial Virus (RSV). These conditions are difficult to treat and, with very few exceptions, there are no medications to treat the majority of primary infections of the respiratory tract. Antibiotics are often misprescribed and over-prescribed. PYN6 is a drug candidate with activity against the "super-bugs" Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureas ('MRSA') and Van-comycin resistant Enterococcus faecalis ("VRE") which was identified by Phynova from its studies relating to PYN5. With the alarming increase of "super bugs" in hospitals, there is a major need for new anti-infective treatments. In the UK alone, 100,000 patients per year contract MRSA while in hospital and the cost to the NHS of treating these infections is estimated at £1 billion per year. The worldwide market for antibiotics used exclusively in hospitals is estimated at £4 billion. PYN7 is a candidate for the treatment of oesophageal cancer and is derived from a single Chinese plant. In clinical trials in China it has been shown to be an effective treatment for oesophageal cancer. In one study of 74 patients with early stage oesophageal cancer, the 3-year survival rate was 97%, compared to the average survival rate in the West of 1.4 years using conventional treatments. Oesophageal cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer death and survival rates are very low from conventional treatments.