Replies to post #24428 on Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc (IPIX)

[JB3729]

The below was written by Patrick Cox -

In many cases, tumor shrinkage was observed. Seeking independent verification, Cellceutix sent its compound to bioscience giant Millipore. Millipore’s screening panels revealed strong data for Kevetrin in cancers ranging from leukemia to solid tumors.

Important Scientist at the Helm
I have, by the way, been familiar with the work of Dr. Menon and Leo Ehrlich for quite some time. In addition to being the founder of Cellceutix, Dr. Menon is the chief regulatory officer for one of the most exciting companies in our portfolio, NanoViricides (OTCBB: NNVC). Formerly, Ehrlich helped found NanoViricides and served as its CFO. Dr. Menon also runs KARD Scientific, a contract research organization (CRO). KARD Scientific has been instrumental in testing and developing NanoViricides’ breakthrough antiviral nanovesicle technology.

CROs are an important and growing part of the drug discovery process. Because they specialize in performing tests and validation, pharmaceutical and biotech companies have found advantages and saving by outsourcing various aspects of the research process to these important organizations.

Pharmas have increasingly turned to CROs as a way to cut costs and manage the complexity of bringing new products to market. Since 2002, KARD Scientific has successfully helped its clients file eight investigative new drug applications with the FDA, thus launching them into human clinical trials.

Researchers at CRO facilities, therefore, see a wide range of platform technologies and candidate compounds from all over the industry. For CRO researchers, exposure to a large variety of different drug candidates can lead to a uniquely broad biotech perspective and expertise. As the head of his own CRO, Dr. Menon has been in the position to develop a very good sense of what will eventually make it to market and what won’t.

Dr. Menon, who has been described as a “lab workaholic,” also has decades of his own experience developing important anti-cancer compounds. His Ph.D. work, for example, laid the foundation for Eli Lilly’s blockbuster cancer drug Alimta. He was also a key developer for Gemzar, another billion-dollar cancer drug. For this and other contributions, he was honored with Eli Lilly’s President’s Award in 1999.

Therefore, his confidence in Cellceutix’s leading candidate, a first-in-class p53-activating cancer compound, has considerable significance. The genesis of the compound, in fact, has roots reaching back many years in Dr. Menon’s long professional career.

As a young man, before earning graduate degrees in medicine and pharmacology, Dr. Menon was the chief veterinarian for a Jamaican parish, which is comparable to an American state. On one occasion, he was called to do a postmortem analysis following the mysterious death of an expensive prize bull. The investigation revealed that the animal had been treated with an agent designed to kill external parasites, a common problem in tropical countries.

During the postmortem analysis, Dr. Menon discovered that the tick-and-mite-killing product acted as a cytotoxic agent, causing organ failure. More importantly, however, he also observed that the bull had suffered from subcutaneous tumors, but many had been eliminated by the product.

The event marked the beginning of his quest to develop anti-cancer compounds that combine low toxicity with high efficacy. This theme has marked much of his career, and has already led to the creation of breakthrough cancer drugs. It is now reaching its culmination in Cellceutix’s leading compound, called Kevetrin.

Kevetrin, a Potential P53-Activating Blockbuster
Discovered by Dr. Menon, Kevetrin is a pharmaceutical-grade salt of a molecule belonging to a class of chemicals known as thioureal compounds. Though widely used in industrial chemical processes, this class of compounds has never before been considered a promising source of drug candidates. The compound on which Kevetrin is based has been used for some time as a chemical intermediary for synthesizing more complex compounds. Before Menon began looking at it, however, its potential as a therapeutic drug was never considered.

Originally, Kevetrin was considered by Cellceutix’s scientific team to be a very interesting candidate for treating head and neck cancers. Follow-up research conducted at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute revealed that it had a much broader potential, however.

Further tests performed on cancer-resistant cell lines grown in animal models revealed astonishing results. Tumor growth was delayed in many different kinds of cancers. In many cases, tumor shrinkage was observed. Seeking independent verification, Cellceutix sent its compound to bioscience giant Millipore. Millipore’s screening panels revealed strong data for Kevetrin in cancers ranging from leukemia to solid tumors.

Some published efficacy data follows below. These two charts were presented at the 102nd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in early April 2011. Both of these charts compare Kevetrin to one of the most common chemotherapy drugs, paclitaxel. Both are xenografts grown in mice. The first chart is for lung cancer tumor line A549:
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[MrW]

I'm on my phone right now so I can't answer very well. Go to DrFeelgood's profile and read all if his CTIX posts. If I answered you I would just be repeating what he's already said to answer all of your questions.

[Gratefullife]

Beth Israel, not Cellceutix, reported the first time ever tumor shrinkage for notoriously intractable renal cancer, in vivo and in combination with a Pfizer drug.

I believe it unlikely Beth Israel would do so if the amount of remission were, by extrapolation, insignificant re. the health of a cancer patient.

If it were certain Kevetrin works as well in humans as it has in the preclinical testing (which has been independently verified) CTIX market cap would be far higher.

I expect that to be the case, eventually.

Dr. Menon has stellar credentials; this has been well-established