annoucement this morning Level 2, 30 Hasler Road,Osborne Park,...

annoucement this morning Level 2, 30 Hasler Road,
Osborne Park, Western Australia 6017
PO Box 1534,
Osborne Park, Western Australia 6916
Telephone + 61 (08) 9244 9631
Facsimile + 61 (08) 9244 9782
Email [email protected]
Internet www.biopharmica.com.au
ACN 095 912 002
24 September 2004
“Swinburne Uni and BioPharmica Biotech Agreement”
BioPharmica has entered into an agreement with Swinburne University of Technology and Dr
Paul Stoddart from the Centre for Imaging and Applied Optics to develop a fibre optic probe to
be used in biosensors for diagnostic testing and drug development.
The SERS Probe technology is being developed to enable biosensors to use light as a method to
detect and monitor biological and chemical targets on the microscopic tip of an optical fibre.
- SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) results in reflections of laser light from a
target containing vibrational energies unique to each compound in a sample, enabling
scientists to identify the material.
- A biosensor is a device that detects, records, and transmits information regarding a
physiological change or the presence of chemical or biological materials. Biosensors
integrate a biological component with an electronic component to yield a measurable
signal.
Biosensor device manufacturers have seen rapid growth with the 2003 worldwide market for
biosensors at US $ 7.3 billion. Analysts project ongoing growth with the market projected at US
$10.8 billion in 2007.
The commercial potential of SERS is recognised in its promise to revolutionize the biosensor
industry, as its light scattering technique to detect and analyse at molecular levels makes it far
more selective and accurate than conventional competing technologies.
Global attempts to develop a SERS capable fibre optic probe to be used in biosensors (such as
the SERS Probe technology) have faced critical hurdles in commercialisation due to
reproducibility (repeatability) issues and high cost of production.
When manufactured in high volumes SERS capable optical fibres have not been able to be
produced with well-defined and uniform features, with the variation between microscopic
fibres being too great. This creates a low level of reproducibility, which is unacceptable in
manufacturing complex biosensors.
With increasing competition product cost has become a critical success factor, even for
companies with high-quality items. Current processes to create fibre optics capable of acting as
a SERS probe have a high cost of production and thus translate into a much more expensive end
product.
The SERS Probe technology being developed by Dr Stoddart and his team at the Centre for
Imaging and Applied Optics has the potential to overcome these critical issues and enable
biomedical device manufacturers to rapidly expand their product development pipeline using
SERS capable fibre optic probes.
At the outset BioPharmica has entered into an agreement to provide an initial $130,000 in
funding and assist in the development of the SERS Probe technology. Swinburne University
will provide infrastructure and patent administration with Dr Stoddart leading technical
development of the technology.
Subject to BioPharmica’s satisfaction with progress of the SERS Probe project, funding will be
provided into a joint venture or company structure to further develop and commercialise the
technology. For its funding and development assistance BioPharmica will earn up to a 52%
interest in the technology and will have first and last rights over future funding.
Managing Director David Breeze said, “Swinburne University of Technology has a long history
and involvement in photonics and optical technologies, areas which underpin the discovery
made by Dr Stoddart. Swinburne is an important player in Australian photonics and the
Centre for Imaging and Applied Optics has a specialist focus on fibre sensors and optical
materials.”
The SERS Probe technology has a myriad of biomedical applications with the potential to
provide biosensor companies with the capacity to rapidly grow and expand what is already an
extremely large market.
Upon Dr Stoddart and his team creating the required data needed to prove the technologies
reproducibility, biosensor companies can be approached to form alliances and partnerships for
commercialisaiton.
David Breeze
Managing Director
BioPharmica Ltd
About BioPharmica Ltd
BioPharmica is a biomedical commercialisation business partnering with universities, medical
institutes and hospitals. Existing product development is targeted at the billion dollar markets
for the detection and treatment of breast, prostate and colorectal cancers and the effective
diagnosis of infectious diseases caused by bacteria.
The Company is working with the University of Western Australia and Professor Peter
Klinken from the Laboratory for Cancer Medicine at the Western Australian Institute for
Medical Research. The Institute combines the Royal Perth Hospital, Sir Charles Gairdner
Hospital, Fremantle Hospital and the University of Western Australia.
BioPharmica is also partnered with Dr Benjamin Fry and Dr Viraj Nawagamuwa from
Diagnostic Array Systems Pty Ltd who are both world leaders in the genetic structure of
bacteria. Products are being developed to identify which specific bacterium is causing an
infectious disease (such as pneumonia or legionnaires disease) by using the genetic structure
(DNA) of bacteria. In using bacterial DNA the testing process can be faster and much more
accurate. Treatment is then more effective as drugs are prescribed sooner and for the specific
bacterium causing the disease.