PharmAust’s Epichem produces first batch of chemistry grade hand sanitiser
Published 20-APR-2020 14:20 P.M.
|
3 minute read
Hey! Looks like you have stumbled on the section of our website where we have archived articles from our old business model.
In 2019 the original founding team returned to run Next Investors, we changed our business model to only write about stocks we carefully research and are invested in for the long term.
The below articles were written under our previous business model. We have kept these articles online here for your reference.
Our new mission is to build a high performing ASX micro cap investment portfolio and share our research, analysis and investment strategy with our readers.
Click Here to View Latest Articles
PharmAust Ltd’s (ASX: PAA) wholly owned subsidiary Epichem has produced its first batch of chemistry grade hand sanitiser, and the group’s chemists are also producing hand sanitiser to support and protect members of the community from COVID-19.
PharmAust is a clinical-stage company developing targeted cancer therapeutics for humans and animals.
The company specialises in repurposing marketed drugs, lowering the risks and costs of development.
PharmAust’s subsidiary Epichem is a successful contract medicinal chemistry company that has been delivering products and services in synthetic and medicinal chemistry to the global drug discovery and pharmaceutical industries in over 40 countries worldwide for more than 16 years.
The subsidiary has newly constructed purpose-built, state-of-the-art laboratories and has world class equipment and expertise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry to support drug discovery projects, and for the cost-effective synthesis of drug analogue libraries and intermediates.
Sanitiser meets World Health Organisation standards
As a WA-based chemistry service provider, management has expressed its proactive stance on stopping the spread of the virus.
The sanitiser has been formulated according to specifications provided by the World Health Organisation.
At this stage, the company is making the product to donate supplies to healthcare and aged care agencies in line with its commitment to corporate social responsibility.
The Breast Cancer Research Centre and MercyCare’s Aged Care, Disability, Family & Community and Early Learning services have already benefitted from the company’s donations and more recipients will follow.
There was also an important development for Epichem in January when the company was awarded an extension to its current contract with Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) (www.dndi.org).
The contract will see Epichem continue to provide synthetic and medicinal chemistry expertise to support DNDi’s drug discovery projects aimed at developing new treatments for neglected diseases, until 31 December, 2020.
Monepantel supplied for COVID-19 testing
PharmAust is also having its share of success as regards to drugs working through the clinical trial stage.
Just last Friday the company entered into a Materials Transfer Agreement with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) of Medical Research in Melbourne to test the effects of monepantel (MPL) on COVID-19 infections.
Monepantel (MPL) is PharmAust’s lead drug candidate, being a novel, potent and safe inhibitor of the mTOR pathway – a key driver of cancer.
Its request for COVID-19 related trials prompted a surge of nearly 20% in the company’s share price.
While there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments.
Monepantel’s mechanism of action in cancer may also prove to be beneficial in the treatment of certain viral diseases.
PharmAust’s chief scientific officer Dr Richard Mollard said, “The studies will commence shortly and WEHI aims to provide a preliminary data summary in May 2020.”
The company has extensively evaluated monepantel in its anti-cancer programmes in humans and in animal models.
MPL has been evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials in humans and dogs, demonstrating that it was well tolerated and produced a significant reduction in key prognostic biomarkers.
PharmAust is uniquely positioned to commercialise MPL for treatment of human and veterinary cancers as it advances the drug in Phase 2 clinical trials.
General Information Only
S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (S3, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) (CAR No. 433913) is a corporate authorised representative of LeMessurier Securities Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 296877). The information contained in this article is general information and is for informational purposes only. Any advice is general advice only. Any advice contained in this article does not constitute personal advice and S3 has not taken into consideration your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Please seek your own independent professional advice before making any financial investment decision. Those persons acting upon information contained in this article do so entirely at their own risk.
Conflicts of Interest Notice
S3 and its associated entities may hold investments in companies featured in its articles, including through being paid in the securities of the companies we provide commentary on. We disclose the securities held in relation to a particular company that we provide commentary on. Refer to our Disclosure Policy for information on our self-imposed trading blackouts, hold conditions and de-risking (sell conditions) which seek to mitigate against any potential conflicts of interest.
Publication Notice and Disclaimer
The information contained in this article is current as at the publication date. At the time of publishing, the information contained in this article is based on sources which are available in the public domain that we consider to be reliable, and our own analysis of those sources. The views of the author may not reflect the views of the AFSL holder. Any decision by you to purchase securities in the companies featured in this article should be done so after you have sought your own independent professional advice regarding this information and made your own inquiries as to the validity of any information in this article.
Any forward-looking statements contained in this article are not guarantees or predictions of future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, and which may cause actual results or performance of companies featured to differ materially from those expressed in the statements contained in this article. S3 cannot and does not give any assurance that the results or performance expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this article will actually occur and readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
This article may include references to our past investing performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of our future investing performance.
