Theralase's PDC destroy 2 types of bacteria, study says
2014-02-13 07:48 ET - News Release
Dr. Arkady Mandel reports
THERALASE DEMONSTRATES BACTERIA DESTRUCTION IN LOW OXYGEN ENVIRONMENTS. UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW PHOTO DYNAMIC COMPOUNDS HAS APPLICATION IN DESTRUCTION OF LUNG, BREAST, BRAIN, BLADDER AND PROSTATE CANCERS
A recently published scientific paper demonstrated that Theralase Technologies Inc.'s new family of photodynamic compounds has been proven to significantly destroy two types of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in low-oxygen atmospheres. The results are considered pivotal because the Theralase PDC efficacy has been validated in both normal and low-oxygen environments. Since the Theralase PDC platform technology is able to be used in both bacteria and cancer destruction, the described technology is offering a new paradigm for destruction of low-oxygenated cancerous tumours. (Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy, Dec. 10 (4), 615-25.)
"The ability for the PDC technology to be effective in low-oxygen environments is considered to be an essential factor in the recurrence and progression of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This form of disease represents up to 75 per cent of newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases, accounting for more than 386,000 cases and 150,000 deaths annually worldwide," said Dr. Arkady Mandel, chief scientific officer of Theralase. Dr. Mandel continued: "The abnormal decrease or the lack of oxygen supply to cells and tissues is called hypoxia and commonly presents in solid cancers, such as brain, bladder, breast, lung and prostate. Hypoxic cancers are extremely aggressive, resistant to standard therapies (chemotherapy and radiotherapy), and thus very difficult to destroy. Tumor hypoxia is known to play a role in cancer metastasis (spread) and resistance to therapy, as well as the ability of cancer cells to escape destruction by the immune system. The evidence supporting the Theralase PDC technology represents a potential solution for hypoxic cancers. In our work, we described a family of Theralase PDCs that have shown an ability to switch their photoreactivity from a type 2 reaction (oxygen-dependent) to a type 1 (free-radical-mediated) reaction. This is strategic to the company in that a type 1 reaction is unique and opens the opportunity of using the PDCs beyond sterilization and the treatment of superficial cancerous lesions to the treatment of harder-to-treat tumours."
Dr. Lothar Lilge, senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, stated: "In well-oxygenated environments, these new PDCs generate singlet oxygen, a dominant cytotoxic substance with close to 100-per-cent efficacy, yet under hypoxia (low-oxygen) conditions, they display the remarkable ability to switch to a type 1 or oxygen-independent cytotoxic substance owing to their ability to simultaneously act as an excited-state oxidant and reductant. The intrinsic positive charge of the Ru(II) metal combined with the oxygen-independent light-activated cytotoxicity demonstrated by this family of PDCs opens a new strategy for destroying both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria regardless of oxygenation level. Therefore, this has a significant impact on the destruction of cancer cells by PDC technology, as a considerable fraction of cancer will survive in low-oxygen environments and, according to the literature, this is one of the causes for recurrence of cancer posttherapy."
Dr. Michael Jewett, clinical principal scientific investigator at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, stated: "I am extremely encouraged by the results of this scientific work and the implications that it may have in the destruction of bladder transitional-cell carcinoma, as the bladder is traditionally known as a very low-oxygen environment. There has not been a new drug approved for bladder cancer since 1998, and I am looking forward to working with the Theralase team to initiate a phase 1/2 clinical trial in Q1 2015."
