REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SMC Biotechnology, a regenerative medicine company developing glycotherapeutic products that enhance tissue regeneration, announced today that data published in the online journal, Biomaterials indicates that its proprietary compound, SMC-107, promotes the formation of new blood vessels comparable to the pro‑angiogenic (the physiological process through which new blood vessels form) effects observed with vascular endothelial growth factor-165 (VEGF165). SMC Biotechnology is currently developing SMC-107 for the treatment of ischaemic and hypovascular conditions.
"We are excited about this data as it further validates the company's premise that our glycotherapeutic products direct the effects of endogenous growth factors. This creates potential first-in-class therapeutic opportunities for safer healing and tissue regeneration without administering recombinant growth factors," said Dr. Darlene P. Horton, the company's Chief Medical Officer.
In the journal's August issue, researchers from the Glycotherapeutics Group, Institute of Medical Biology at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore reported that SMC-107 enhanced the bioactivity of VEGF165 and its receptor interaction, leading to increased endothelial cell growth and tubular blood vessel formation. The study suggests that the pro-angiogenic effects of SMC-107 are mediated by the interaction of VEGF165 and its receptor already present in native tissues. SMC-107 is an affinity isolated heparan sulfate (HS) glycosaminoglycan (GAG), a naturally occurring sugar substance composed of chains of paired sugar units.
"This study is the first demonstration of pro-angiogenesis with this affinity-isolated glycotherapeutic, SMC-107, in a preclinical model," said Simon Cool, PhD, co-founder of SMC Biotechnology and one of the lead investigators. "We showed that SMC-107 alone is able to exploit the actions of endogenous growth factors like VEGF165 present at the site of desired vessel production. This creates the potential for novel treatment alternatives for ischaemic conditions because these tissues are known to produce high endogenous levels of VEGF165."
To develop a specific glycotherapeutic for vascular tissue regeneration, Dr. Cool and Victor Nurcombe, PhD, co-founders of SMC Biotechnology, and fellow researchers at A*STAR utilized a proprietary affinity chromatography process to purify SMC-107 targeted at binding to VEGF165. SMC Bio has further developed this platform process into a scalable, cost effective manufacturing process for clinical trials and commercial use.
Professor Birgit Lane, PhD, Executive Director of the Institute of Medical Biology, A*STAR commented that "The demonstration of enhanced blood vessel formation with the sugar compound alone helps us to understand that the importance of carbohydrates in tissue biology may lie in their capacity to direct specific growth factor activity to achieve healing and tissue regeneration."
SMC Biotechnology licensed this novel platform technology from A*STAR, Singapore's leader in fostering scientific development and talent. Through an exclusive agreement with A*STAR, SMC Biotechnology was spun off from the Institute of Medical Biology in 2010 to commercialize a library of breakthrough glycotherapeutic products that preferentially bind to specific pro-healing factors. SMC Biotechnology is currently developing a number of glycotherapeutic compounds, including SMC-107 for vascular repair and SMC-103 for bone regeneration in spinal fusion and dental implant surgeries as an alternative to bone graft and bone graft substitutes.
"We now understand that SMC-107 stimulates blood vessel growth without the need to administer VEFG165 in a preclinical model. This has tremendous therapeutic potential for patients with a variety of ischaemic and hypovascular conditions," stated Dr. Horton. "SMC-107 now joins our pipeline of products with peer reviewed data including our lead product, SMC-103, that regenerates bone without the need to administer bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2) or autogenous bone grafting strategies."
About SMC Biotechnology
SMC Biotechnology is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, USA and aims to become the world leader in regenerative medicine by developing proprietary glycotherapeutic products that optimize tissue regeneration. SMC Bio's selected pipeline of glycotherapeutic products consist of heparan sulfate (HS) glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), or naturally occurring sugars, that enhance the biology of the body's pro-healing factors produced at sites of injury. The lead glycotherapeutic product, SMC-103, is under development as a safer bone regenerative alternative to recombinant protein therapy or bone graft procedures for use in dental implant surgery, bone fractures, and to facilitate surgical fusion techniques.
In July of 2013, a study published in Biomaterials suggested that SMC-103 greatly enhanced bone repair in a preclinical model. Researchers also found that SMC-103 increased the bioavailability, bioactivity and half-life of the pro-healing compound, bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2).
SMC Biotechnology licensed its novel glycotherapeutic pipeline and platform technology from A*STAR, Singapore's lead agency in fostering scientific development and talent. Through an exclusive license agreement with A*STAR, SMC Biotechnology was spun off from the Institute of Medical Biology in 2010 to commercialize a library of breakthrough glycotherapeutic compounds that preferentially bind to specific pro-healing factors.