| To: Lateott who wrote (25) | 7/20/2005 2:21:27 PM | | From: donpat | | | | My thoughts on Theracour Pharma.
The US patent issued to "Inventors: Watterson; Arthur C. (Nashua, NH); Danprasert; Kunya (Bangkapi, TH); Diwan; Anil (West Haven, CT)"
I think that Theracour Pharma was set up to market that patent:
Message 21480742
Diwan is the only inventor now at NNVC. He is also a principle at Theracour Pharma:
"Anil and his partners have formed a new company, TheraCour Pharma, Inc., with private investor financing to commercialize these materials and also to develop new drugs based on them."
Message 21480615
It looks to me that this approach rewards all inventors for the invention by the royalties received and split however agreed upon, likely equally among the three - the three in Theracour, while the vehicle to commercialize the stuff is NNVC with but one inventor in the picture - Diwan - along with shareholders who will be rewarded as NNVC prospers. It could well have been the case that while Diwan was keen to get involved in the commercialization opportunities the other inventors were not, for whatever reasons - perhaps they preferred to stay wherever they are presently, like in the academic community, perhaps.
As I said - this is my take. The company could, and should, perhaps, clarify this question fully. Especially regarding any cancellation provisions of this perpetual licence by Theracour Pharma. As you said, once bitten, twice shy!!!
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| From: archimedest | 7/21/2005 9:09:47 AM | | | | | | | Very interesting article on the NNVC site from NanoBiotech news. It gives you a good idea of their strategy going forward. I expect this stock to continue climbing for a while. |
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| To: archimedest who wrote (28) | 7/21/2005 9:29:19 AM | | From: donpat | | | | NanoViricides' President Discusses New HIV Drugs and Company Goals in Interview with NanoBiotech News
Thursday July 21, 8:53 am ET
Provides In-Depth Interview of the NanoViricides Story
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 2005--NanoViricides, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNVC - News), has announced the online availability of a feature article about NanoViricides, Inc. in the July 13, 2005 edition of NanoBiotech News. In the article, Dr. Diwan discusses NanoViricides' uniqueness and drug development goals as it prepares to compete in the multi-billion-dollar bio-pharmaceutical marketplace.
The article can be viewed free of charge by visiting nanoviricides.com
[[ARTICLE here: nanoviricides.com ]]
Information about NanoBiotech News can be found at nanobiotechnews.com
About NanoViricides - nanoviricides.com
NanoViricides, Inc. is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. NanoViricides, Inc. has exclusive license in perpetuity for technologies developed by Theracour Pharma for the five virus types: HIV, HCV, Herpes, Asian (bird) flu and Influenza. A NanoViricide(TM) is a nanoparticle that contains an encapsulated active pharmaceutical ingredient and targets it to a specific type of virus. When a NanoViricide(TM) drug particle enters the patient's blood stream, it attacks and immobilizes circulating virus particles. Once this is done, the active pharmaceutical ingredient is injected into the virus by the NanoViricide(TM) particle, destroying it. The company plans to develop novel NanoViricide(TM) drugs first against HIV, and anticipates that it will license the products to major pharmaceutical companies.
This press release contains forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research and development strategy, the availability of adequate financing, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies and the uncertainties related to the regulatory process.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
NanoViricides, Inc., New York
Leo Ehrlich, 917-853-6440
leo@nanoviricides.com
or
Anil R. Diwan, Ph.D.
adiwan@snet.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: NanoViricides, Inc.
biz.yahoo.com |
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| To: donpat who wrote (26) | 7/21/2005 12:29:48 PM | | From: Lateott | | | | Thanks donpat,
Looking to recoup the flogging I took on HTDS and just trying to to a little DD. Well, let me rephrase, hoping to suck a little DD out of you guys. Your comments, as always, are much appreciated.
Thanks again. |
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| To: Lateott who wrote (30) | 7/21/2005 1:54:24 PM | | From: donpat | | | | I try!
I like this NNVC more than most (other stocks) around here. I think it has some terrific possibilities. And lining our pockets will be an added bonus; I think the contributions this technology could well contribute to mankind is the main benefit.
Money is one thing - but some things are more important. |
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| To: donpat who wrote (31) | 7/21/2005 4:40:41 PM | | From: jmhollen | | | | O/T & FYI: If some short term "..recouping.." is desirable, I'd suggest a healthy ACHI collection - ASAP.
See Board.
John :-)
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| From: donpat | 7/21/2005 7:08:29 PM | | | | | | Using Nanoparticles, In Vivo Gene Therapy Activates Brain Stem Cells
[This nano+bio is exciting stuff!]
Technique may allow scientists to repair brain cells damaged by disease, trauma or stroke
Release date: Monday, July 25, 2005
Embargoed until: Monday, July 25, 2005, 5:00 PM
Contact: Ellen Goldbaum, goldbaum@buffalo.edu
Phone: 716-645-5000 ext 1415
Fax: 716-645-3765
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Using customized nanoparticles that they developed, University at Buffalo scientists have for the first time delivered genes into the brains of living mice with an efficiency that is similar to, or better than, viral vectors and with no observable toxic effect, according to a paper published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The paper describes how the UB scientists used gene-nanoparticle complexes to activate adult brain stem/progenitor cells in vivo, demonstrating that it may be possible to "turn on" these otherwise idle cells as effective replacements for those destroyed by neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's.
In addition to delivering therapeutic genes to repair malfunctioning brain cells, the nanoparticles also provide promising models for studying the genetic mechanisms of brain disease.
"Until now, no non-viral technique has proven to be as effective as the viral vectors in vivo," said co-author Paras N. Prasad, Ph.D., executive director of the UB Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, SUNY Distinguished Professor in UB's Department of Chemistry and principal investigator of the institute's nanomedicine program. "This transition, from in vitro to in vivo, represents a dramatic leap forward in developing experimental, non-viral techniques to study brain biology and new therapies to address some of the most debilitating human diseases."
Viral vectors for gene therapy always carry with them the potential to revert back to wild-type, and some human trials have even resulted in fatalities.
As a result, new research focuses increasingly on non-viral vectors, which don't carry this risk.
Viral vectors can be produced only by specialists under rigidly controlled laboratory conditions. By contrast, the nanoparticles developed by the UB team can be synthesized easily in a matter of days by an experienced chemist.
The UB researchers make their nanoparticles from hybrid, organically modified silica (ORMOSIL), the structure and composition of which allow for the development of an extensive library of tailored nanoparticles to target gene therapies for different tissues and cell types.
A key advantage of the UB team's nanoparticle is its surface functionality, which allows it to be targeted to specific cells, explained Dhruba J. Bharali, Ph.D., a co-author on the paper and post-doctoral associate in the UB Department of Chemistry and UB's Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics.
While they are easier and faster to produce, non-viral vectors typically suffer from very low expression and efficacy rates, especially in vivo.
"This is the first time that a non-viral vector has demonstrated efficacy in vivo at levels comparable to a viral vector," Bharali said.
In the UB experiments, targeted dopamine neurons -- which degenerate in Parkinson's disease, for example -- took up and expressed a fluorescent marker gene, demonstrating the ability of nanoparticle technology to deliver effectively genes to specific types of cells in the brain.
Using a new optical fiber in vivo imaging technique (CellviZio developed by Mauna Kea Technologies of Paris), the UB researchers were able to observe the brain cells expressing genes without having to sacrifice the animal.
Then the UB researchers decided to go one step further, to see if they could not only observe, but also manipulate the behavior of brain cells.
Their finding that the nanoparticles successfully altered the development path of neural stem cells is especially intriguing because of scientific concerns that embryonic stem cells may not be able to function correctly since they have bypassed some of the developmental stages cells normally go through.
"What we did here instead was to reactivate adult stem cells located on the floor of brain ventricles, germinal cells that normally produce progeny that then die if they are not used," said Michal K. Stachowiak, Ph.D., co-author on the paper and associate professor of pathology and anatomical sciences in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Stachowiak is in charge of in vivo studies at the UB Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics.
"It's likely that these stem/progenitor cells will grow into healthy neurons," he said.
"In the future, this technology may make it possible to repair neurological damage caused by disease, trauma or stroke," said Earl J. Bergey, Ph.D., co-author and deputy director of biophotonics at the institute.
The group's next step is to conduct similar studies in larger animals.
The UB research was supported by the John R. Oishei Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the American Parkinson Disease Association and UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.
buffalo.edu |
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| From: donpat | 7/26/2005 9:37:22 AM | | | | | | Nanomedicine - How Nanotechnology Can Be Used in the Healthcare/Drug Markets for Humans and Animals
Topics Covered
Background
Firms Who Are Using Nanoparticles in Veterinary Applications
Drug Discovery - Using Biochips and Microfluidic Devices in Genetically Targeted Drugs
Disease Detection - How Nanoparticles Can Be Used in Medical Diagnostics
Using Nanoshells and Quantum Dots to Detect Disease
Heating up Nanoshells with Lasers to Destroy Diseased Tissue
New Drug Delivery Mechanisms - the Benefits of Using Nano-Sized Structures
Using Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers to Smuggle Compounds to Specific Targets
‘Smart Drugs’ - How Nanocapsules Reach Their Targets
Other Types of Nanomaterials Used in Drug Delivery Systems
BioSilicon
Fullerenes
Dendrimers
DNA Nanocapsules
Background
The field of nanomedicine offers ever more breathless promises of new diagnoses and cures as well as ways of improving human performance. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) expects nanotechnology to account for around half of all pharmaceutical industry sales by 2010. What is less hyped is that the same impact is likely to hit the animal health market - either as nanotechnologies show their worth in human medicine or as a proving ground for more controversial approaches to nanomedicine, such as using DNA nanocapsules.
Firms Who Are Using Nanoparticles in Veterinary Applications
Companies such as SkyePharma, IDEXX and Probiomed are currently developing nanoparticle veterinary applications. A full assessment of how pharmaceutical companies are using nanotechnology in drug development and delivery is beyond the scope of this article. Briefly summarised below are some of the key technologies that are also relevant to animal pharmaceuticals.
Drug Discovery - Using Biochips and Microfluidic Devices in Genetically Targeted Drugs
The ability to image and isolate biological molecules on the nano-scale opens the door for more precise drug design as well as much faster genomic screening and screening of compounds to assess their suitability as drugs. Pharma companies are particularly interested in using biochips and microfluidic devices to screen tissues for genetic differences so that they can design genetically targeted drugs (pharmacogenomics).
Disease Detection - How Nanoparticles Can Be Used in Medical Diagnostics
Nanoparticles, which are able to move easily around the body, can be used for diagnosis. Of particular interest are quantum dots - cadmium selenide nanocrystals which fluoresce in different colours depending on their size. Quantum dots can be functionalised to tag different biological components, like proteins or DNA strands, with specific colours. In this way, a blood sample can be quickly screened for certain proteins that may indicate a higher propensity for disease.
Using Nanoshells and Quantum Dots to Detect Disease
A similar effect can be achieved with gold nanoshells, tiny beads of glass covered with a layer of gold that change colours depending on the thickness of the gold. Both nanoshells and quantum dots can be designed to bind to tumours and malignant cells when introduced into the body, allowing them to be more precisely identified.
Heating up Nanoshells with Lasers to Destroy Diseased Tissue
Scientists at Rice University who have pioneered this technique have also shown, in animals, that the nanoshells can be heated up by lasers so that they selectively destroy the diseased tissue they lock onto, without harming skin or nearby healthy tissue. This technology has been commercially licensed to a startup called Nanospectra.
New Drug Delivery Mechanisms - the Benefits of Using Nano-Sized Structures
Drugs themselves are set to shrink. Nano-sized structures have the advantage of being able to sneak past the immune system and across barriers (e.g., the blood-brain barrier or the stomach wall) the body uses to keep out unwanted substances. Pharmaceutical compounds reformulated as nanoparticles not only reach parts of the body that today’s formulations cannot, their large surface area can also make them more biologically active. Increased bioavailability means that lower concentrations of expensive drug compounds would be required, with potentially fewer side effects.
Using Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers to Smuggle Compounds to Specific Targets
Nanoparticles can also be used as carriers to smuggle attached compounds through the body. Leading nanopharma companies such as SkyePharma and Powderject (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Chiron) have developed methods of delivering nanoparticle pharmaceuticals across skin or via inhalation. Researchers in Florida are working on nano delivery systems that diffuse drugs across the eye from specially impregnated contact lenses.
‘Smart Drugs’ - How Nanocapsules Reach Their Targets
As with pesticide delivery, the big interest is in ‘controlled release.’ Many of the big pharma and animal pharma companies working on nano-drugs are using encapsulation technologies such as nanocapsules to smuggle active compounds into and around the body. The capsules can be functionalised to bind at specific places in the body, or be activated by an external trigger, such as a magnetic pulse or ultrasound. The USDA compares these functionalised drug nanocapsules, called “Smart Delivery Systems,” to the postal system, where molecular-coded “address labels” ensure that the packaged pharmaceutical reaches its intended destination.
Other Types of Nanomaterials Used in Drug Delivery Systems
Besides capsules, other nanomaterials being used to deliver drugs are listed below.
BioSilicon
BioSilicon is a highly porous silicon-based nanomaterial product, which can release a medicine slowly over a period of time. Developed by Australian company pSivida, the company uses its BioSilicon technology to fashion tiny capsules (to be swallowed) and also tiny needles that can be built into a patch to invisibly pierce the skin and deliver drugs.
Fullerenes
Fullerenes, the so called “miracle molecules” of nanotechnology (buckyballs and carbon nanotubes are included in this class of carbon molecules), are hollow cages of sixty carbon atoms less than a couple of nanometers wide. Because they are hollow, pharma companies are exploring filling the fullerenes with drug compounds and then functionalising them to bind in different parts of the body.
Dendrimers
Dendrimers are branching molecules that have a tree-like structure and are becoming one of the most popular tools in nanotechnology. Because of their shape and nano-size, dendrimers have three advantages in drug delivery:
· First, they can hold a drug’s molecules in their structure and serve as a delivery vehicle;
· Second, they can enter cells easily and release drugs on target;
· Third, and most importantly, dendrimers don’t trigger immune system responses.
Dendrimers can also be used for chemical analysis and diagnosis – raising the future possibility of synthetic molecules that can locate, diagnose and then treat tumours or other sick cells.
DNA Nanocapsules
DNA nanocapsules smuggle strands of viral DNA into cells. Once the capsule breaks down, the DNA hijacks the cells’ machinery to produce compounds that would be expected in a virus attack, thus alerting and training the immune system to recognise them. DNA nanocapsule technology could also be used to hijack living cells to produce other compounds such as new proteins or toxins. As a result, they must be carefully monitored as a potential biowarfare technology.
Source: ‘Down on the Farm: the Impact of Nano-Scale Technologies on Food and Agriculture’, ETC Group Report, November 2004.
For more information on this source please visit the ETC Group.
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| From: donpat | 7/26/2005 11:29:26 AM | | | | | | NanoViricides, Inc. Announces Leo Ehrlich as CFO
Tuesday July 26, 11:00 am ET
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2005--NanoViricides, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNVC - News), announced that Leo Ehrlich agreed to move from acting to permanent Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Ehrlich brings over 20 years of private and public company experience to the Company, including extensive experience in SEC reporting and guidelines.
Mr. Ehrlich became a certified public accountant in 1983 in NYC, and has been an investor in Theracour, the company from which NanoViricides licenses its core technology, since its inception. "My respect for Dr. Diwan has grown over the years we've been working together," noted Mr. Ehrlich. "His ability to talk science with industry leaders is unlike anything I've ever seen. He understands both the science and the business and I believe he will meet milestones set before him. I look forward to building this company with him."
About NanoViricides, Inc.
NanoViricides, Inc. is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. NanoViricides, Inc. has exclusive license in perpetuity for technologies developed by Theracour Pharma for the five virus types HIV, HCV, Herpes, Asian (bird) flu and Influenza. A NanoViricide(TM) is a flexible nanomaterial that is capable of encapsulating active pharmaceutical ingredients, and can be programmed to target a specific type of virus. When a NanoViricide(TM) polymeric micelle enters the patient's blood stream; it attacks and immobilizes circulating virus particles. Once this is done, the active pharmaceutical ingredient gets injected into the virus particle, destroying it completely. The company plans to develop novel NanoViricide(TM) drugs first against HIV, and anticipates that it will license the products to major pharmaceutical companies.
Contact:
NanoViricides, Inc., New York
Leo Ehrlich, 917-853-6440
Source: Nanoviricides, Inc.
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