Biotech Novogen has made a breakthrough in the development of its anti-cancer drug TRXE-009, with trials on animals showing that the drug can breach the blood-brain barrier.
The blood-brain barrier protects the brain from the unwanted toxic effects of drugs and food chemicals.
It stops 98 per cent of drugs used in humans from reaching the brain.
Consequently, people with brain cancer have poor survival prospects despite treatment with chemotherapy.
Novogen says an intravenous dose of TRXE-009 given to animals was able to deliver therapeutic concentrations of the drug to brain tissue, confirming that it can cross the blood-brain barrier.
"TRXE-009 in our view represents an exciting drug prospect and a breakthrough in the search for an avenue of treatment for the large unmet clinical need of both primary and secondary brain cancer," Novogen chief executive Graham Kelly said on Friday.
Dr Kelly said TRXE-009 can kill a full range of cells within a tumour, including the tumour-initiating or cancer stem cells.
Novogen said the next step in the development of TRXE-009 was to confirm that the drug is effective against brain cancer cells growing in the brain.
Shares in Novogen rose three cents, or 12.2 per cent, to 27.5 cents.
Share
