A Lawrence company that uses patented technology created at the University of Kansas to improve the effectiveness of drugs has won a $100,000 National Institutes of Health grant to support further testing of the company's promising new cancer drug, Nanotax.
The company, CritiTech Inc., in cooperation with the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., already has performed preclinical ovarian cancer studies at the medical center under the direction of Katherine Roby, research associate professor of anatomy and cell biology and a member of the medical center's Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute. Researchers at KU's Higuchi Biosciences Center developed the patented technology.
"Dr. Roby's research illustrates how industry and university scientists can become partners in developing treatments and drugs that will improve human health and have positive economic impact on the state of Kansas," said Barbara Atkinson, executive dean of the KU School of Medicine and vice chancellor for clinical affairs.
Atkinson said that the School of Medicine also is working with the Higuchi Biosciences Center and other programs on the Lawrence campus in pursuit of Comprehensive Cancer Center status from the National Cancer Institute at the medical center.
The NIH grant will support a second round of preclinical trials for Nanotax, a new formulation of Taxol, a well-known drug used to treat breast and ovarian cancers, said Sam Campbell, chief executive officer and chairman of CritiTech. Nanotax, the first drug to be announced under the company's drug development program, offers the hope of improved delivery of Taxol to patients without the negative side effects normally associated with the drug.
"We are pleased the NIH has helped fund important research into Nanotax," Campbell said. "The results of earlier studies were very encouraging, and the next research phase will move forward quickly as a result of this grant."
CritiTech's work shows how bioscience research in Kansas and Missouri has created opportunities for new business development. The company is expanding its operations to become a developer and manufacturer of fine-particle pharmaceutical compounds for both the drug manufacturing and biotechnology industries.
"CritiTech is a prime example of how technology developed through KU research leads to the formation of a spin-off company with the potential to significantly benefit the economy of Kansas and the health of society," said Jim Roberts, vice provost for research and president of the KU Center for Research.