Cancer
AEgera Therapeutics (Montreal, PQ)
CMDF Investment: $5,573,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer Central Nervous System Disorders Cardiovascular Diseases & Blood Products Parkinson's Disease
Company Website
CMDF was instrumental in the creation of Aegera Therapeutics Inc. in May 2000 through the merger of two CMDF portfolio companies - Apoptogen Inc.; (Ottawa) and Exogen Neurosciences Inc.; (Montreal). Aegera brings together exciting technologies involved in identifying and manipulating cellular pathways implicated in the survival; growth and death of nerve cells.
Several neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are believed to result from genetic alterations within nerve cells that lead to abnormal; premature cell death. From its unique knowledge of the genetic processes involved in these diseases; Aegera is developing novel therapies to extend and enhance the lives of people suffering from acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions and nerve injuries.
In addition a proprietary therapeutic approach to cancer; is also under development in the company's wholly owned subsidiary; Aegera Oncology; based upon the restoration of normal cell death mechanisms to cancer cells.
Ambit Biosciences Canada (Toronto, On)
CMDF Investment: $6,082,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer Central Nervous System Disorders Inflammatory Diseases
Company Website
Ambit Biosciences is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company that uses groundbreaking technology to discover and develop proprietary small molecule drugs for a variety of clinical indications. Our lead drug candidates include neuroprotectants for treatment of stroke and other CNS disorders and kinase inhibitors for treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Cytochroma (Markham, ON)
CMDF Investment: $3,152,000
Private Company
Focus:Skin Diseases Cancer
Company Website
Cytochroma is engaged in the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs focused on treating skin disorders and cancer by targeting a family of proteins termed cytochrome P450s. Cytochroma is the only company with an exclusive focus on discovering and developing drugs whose mechanism of action is based on regulating cytochrome P450 activity. The company’s new chemical entities are closely related to known drugs yet provide significant improvements over existing therapies with regard to efficacy and side-effect profile. Cytochroma believes that its approach minimizes the risk of failure in clinical development.
The Company’s initial drug products will control the intracellular levels of retinoic acid (the biologically active metabolite of vitamin A) and calcitriol (the biologically active metabolite of vitamin D); respectively. These drugs may be used on their own or in combination with existing drugs. Cytochroma has shown that its proprietary molecular targets can be used to discover drugs with the potential to treat a large variety of diseases which in addition to skin disorders and cancer may include inflammatory disorders; osteoporosis; and neurological disorders. These markets represent areas of major unmet medical need and as a result provide multi-billion dollar opportunities.
Cytochroma has identified a small-library of proprietary vitamin D analogs that inhibit the activity of CYP24; a cytochrome P450 enzyme involved in the breakdown of calcitriol. One analog; CTA018 will enter IND-enabling preclinical development for mild to moderate psoriasis by early 2004. Other compounds have been assessed in cell culture and animal models of cancer and are expected to enter IND-enabling preclinical development for oncology indications (such as prostate cancer) by early 2005. The market opportunity for mild to moderate psoriasis is in excess of US$1.6 billion while that for prostate cancer is in excess of US$2.4 billion.
Cytochroma and its founders discovered a cytochrome P450 gene family termed CYP26 that is involved in the breakdown of retinoic acid. The Company has been collaborating with Allergan since 1999 in validating two members of this enzyme family; CYP26A and CYP26B; as drug targets for dermatology and oncology and identifying specific and potent small-molecule inhibitors thereof. This collaboration has advanced to the identification and characterization of several new chemical entities with potential clinical value. One such compound; CTAR398 has demonstrated attractive properties in animal models and is poised to enter IND-enabling preclinical development for dermatological indications; by early 2004.
Gemin X Biotechnologies (Montreal, PQ)
CMDF Investment: $9,694,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer
Company Website
Capitalizing on several key discoveries in programmed cell death (apoptosis) made by scientists at McGill University; Gemin X has an exciting technology platform in the area of apoptosis that in the lab cause a variety of tumour cells to self-destruct without harming healthy cells. Apoptosis is an important and normal biological process that plays a vital role in the physiological maintenance of a variety of tissues in the body. Abnormal control of apoptosis can have serious consequences and often leads to a wide range of human diseases. The development of cancer; as well as the pathology of viral infections; results in part from a failure of cells to undergo apoptosis when genetically signalled to do so.
Cancer cells contain the keys to their own demise. Since cancer cells arise when the genetic "switches" regulating normal apoptosis fail; instead of being removed; pre-cancerous cells remain and often grow unrestrained. Reinstating these switches could prove a very effective therapeutic strategy in destroying cancer tumours. This is why apoptosis; or programmed cell death; is rapidly becoming one of the hottest areas of biotechnology.
Among the therapeutic targets of interest to Gemin X is an apoptosis-suppressing protein; called Bcl-2. Although it is accepted that Bcl-2 plays a key role in allowing cancer cells to survive; historically Bcl-2 has been an elusive target for developing novel therapeutic approaches to cancer. Bcl-2 is a member of a family of genes that regulate apoptosis in the cell. In the case of cancer; Bcl-2 overrides the normal cell death; or apoptotic process; allowing cancer cells to survive and multiply. Current chemotherapy regimens for treating cancer are further complicated by Bcl-2; which may cause cancer cells to become resistant to chemotherapy. Specific cancers that demonstrate overproduction of Bcl-2 include breast; colorectal and hormone-resistant prostate cancer.
Gemin X has discovered GX011; a compound that targets Bcl-2; and that has demonstrated the ability to specifically reverse the inhibition of apoptosis in cancer cell lines and may provide an exciting new method for treating many major cancers.
MethylGene (Montreal, PQ)
CMDF Investment: $2,900,000
Public (TSX-MYG)
Focus:Cancer Infectious Dieases
Company Website
MethylGene's scientific platforms include three distinct and proprietary chemical approaches to inhibit cancer and other diseases using novel antisense compounds and small molecule compounds. Antisense drugs are short strands of modified DNA that; based on their sequence; can specifically target a gene and prevent it from working. While small molecule drugs such as aspirin and morphine; work on their molecular target based on their structure; antisense drugs work on their gene target; based on their sequence. Advantages of antisense drugs include increased specificity for their target and decreased toxic effects.
MG98; MethylGene's lead anticancer drug candidate and inhibitor of DNA Methyltransferase; the company's first anticancer target is in Phase II trials in recurrent or metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. MethylGene has a strategic agreement with MGI PHARMA (Minneapolis; MN) to financially support the trials and other research programs.
Protiva Biotherapeutics (Burnaby, BC)
CMDF Investment: $5,750,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer Inflammatory Diseases
Company Website
Protiva is a biotechnology company developing a systemic; non-viral gene-delivery platform. Protiva was spun out of Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation in 2001; where the technology had been under preclinical development for six years. Protiva is focused on becoming a leader in targeted; gene-delivered protein products that are safe and effective for use in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Resonant Medical (Montreal, PQ)
CMDF Investment: $500,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer
Company Website
Resonant Medical is a private Canadian medical imaging company founded in 2000 with operations in Montreal and Toronto. The company focuses on cancer therapy's major ongoing concern of how to visualize; analyze and adapt to the constantly changing state of tumors during the course of treatment. These capabilities are crucially needed by physicians in order to ensure the precise delivery of radiation and chemotherapy to tumors while sparing healthy surrounding tissues. To achieve this breakthrough; Resonant Medical is pioneering the field of 3D Ultrasound Image-Guided Adaptive Cancer Therapy. Resonant's hardware-software platform verifies tumor position and treatment accuracy and will also detect if; when and how a treatment plan has to be adapted to compensate for daily changes in tumor state. By acquiring 3D tumor data at both the treatment planning & delivery stages; Resonant provides the new ability to utilize such data in the same coordinate space over time; and enhance treatments accordingly. This enables an eagerly-awaited "See and Treat" paradigm shift that will improve cancer treatment quality and reduce its side effects.
Resonant Medical Technologies (Toronto, ON)
CMDF Investment: $7,500,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer
Company Website
Resonant Medical is a private Canadian medical imaging company founded in 2000 with operations in Montreal and Toronto. The company focuses on cancer therapy's major ongoing concern of how to visualize; analyze and adapt to the constantly changing state of tumors during the course of treatment. These capabilities are crucially needed by physicians in order to ensure the precise delivery of radiation and chemotherapy to tumors while sparing healthy surrounding tissues. To achieve this breakthrough; Resonant Medical is pioneering the field of 3D Ultrasound Image-Guided Adaptive Cancer Therapy. Resonant's hardware-software platform verifies tumor position and treatment accuracy and will also detect if; when and how a treatment plan has to be adapted to compensate for daily changes in tumor state. By acquiring 3D tumor data at both the treatment planning & delivery stages; Resonant provides the new ability to utilize such data in the same coordinate space over time; and enhance treatments accordingly. This enables an eagerly-awaited "See and Treat" paradigm shift that will improve cancer treatment quality and reduce its side effects.
Star Bio Investments (Saskatoon, SK)
CMDF Investment: $3,960,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer
Company Website
Star Bio Invesments Inc. is an immunobiologicals company. It is dedicated to the development and commercialization of novel treatments for hormone-dependent cancers and other serious disorders. The Company's technology harnesses the immune system to control intercellular messengers; such as hormones; thereby achieving therapeutic effect. Initially; Star Bio is focused on developing hormone-regulatory therapies for prostate and breast cancer. However; a lead product - Norelin™ - was acquired by YM Biosciences Inc. Norelin is an immunopharmaceutical product based on a proprietary recombinant antigen; which harnesses the patient's own immune system to stimulate the development of antibodies to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The antibodies block the action of GnRH; a generally accepted therapeutic approach; which has therapeutic benefits for certain hormone-dependent cancers; such as prostate; breast; ovarian and uterine cancer.
Twinstrand Therapeutics (Burnaby, BC)
CMDF Investment: $4,084,000
Private Company
Focus:Aids Cancer Infectious Dieases
Company Website
Twinstrand Therapeutics Inc. is a privately owned biopharmaceutical company (incorporated in 1995) with modern laboratories and offices in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby; British Columbia.
Twinstrand specializes in the development of recombinant therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases. Using molecular genetic and combinatorial methods; the company is advancing a family of prodrugs that are activated by disease-associated proteases. Twinstrand's molecules have a wide range of potential applications in the treatment of diseases such as cancer; HIV/AIDS; hepatitis A and C; cytomegalovirus and herpes. Cancer is the leading application of the company's technology.
Xillix Ltd. (Subsidiary of Xillix Technologies) (Richmond, BC)
CMDF Investment: $5,000,000
Private Company
Focus:Cancer Other
Company Website
Xillix is a leader in the research; development and commercialization of proprietary medical imaging technology; based on tissue fluorescence; a technique that substantially improves upon the clinician's ability to detect the early presence and localization of cancerous lesions. Their lead product is the LIFE-Lung system is the company's lead product for lung cancer detection; and is approved for sale in the U.S.; Canada; Europe and Japan. In clinical studies of Xillix's first generation lung device; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the company's device improved the physician's ability to detect lung cancer by 171% compared with conventional white light bronchoscopy alone.
