ChemGenex receives two ARC linkage grants

Melbourne and California-based ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CXS) has been awarded two linkage project grants worth AUD$525,000 in cash from the Australian Research Council (ARC) over the next three years.

When in-kind support from the collaborating institutions and ChemGenex's own contribution are factored in, the grants are worth a total of AUD$2.67 million over the next three years.

The grants will fund two separate projects. The first is to be conducted in collaboration with University of Melbourne researchers and will investigate the role of the ChemGenex patented protein SelS -- a selenoprotein with antioxidant properties that has been shown in vitro to protect insulin-producing beta cells from oxidative damage. The aim of the project is to prove that this protein can prevent or delay the onset of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in mouse models.

"We've got good animal and human genetic data showing that this gene regulates circulating cytokines that are involved in regulatory the inflammatory response," said ChemGenex CEO Greg Collier.

The inflammatory response is thought to underpin metabolic diseases, cancer, potentially diabetes and even obesity, he said.

"The implications of a major gene that regulates protein in cells that controls the inflammatory response in humans is a pretty critical thing," said Collier.

The project will selectively knockout the gene to modify its levels in different tissues and examine the effects on the health outcome of the animals, said Collier.

The second project will be conducted in collaboration with investigators from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in Sydney, and Deakin University. The project will focus initially on a new assay for insulin action in fat cells to screen for compounds of potential therapeutic use in diabetes.

"With the ARC's support, we're purchasing broad based chemistry libraries where we can screen across the assay system we've developed, come up with new chemical entities that will act as insulin sensitisers, and potentially then develop them into drugs," said Collier.

The ARC grants complement existing grants awarded to ChemGenex researchers by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) worth AUD$4.4 million from 2003-2007, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) worth AUD$128,000 in 2004.

"If you look at the grants they've been awarded, the quality of the scientific publications they have, and the science they're presenting at international conferences, it's clearly a recognition of these scientists as cutting edge," said Collier.

ChemGenex has also appointed Patrick Burns and Peter Bradfield as directors. US-based Burns is currently director of Progen Industries (ASX:PGL), a director of New York city-based firmView, Euclid Systems and StablEyes, and a senior advisor to Pharmalab. Bradfield is currently managing director of a marketing and development advice consultancy and a former CEO of Energy Resources of Australia, and former CEO and managing director of the Elders Mining Group.

Virax also receives ARC linkage grant

Melbourne immunotherapy developer Virax Holdings (ASX:VHL), in collaboration with the University of South Australia, has also received an ARC linkage project grant for the development of fowlpox virus (FPV) vector technology.

Virax uses a non-infectious fowlpox virus as a vector to deliver its patented Co-X-Gene technology into human cells. The genetically engineered virus expresses genes for key antigens associated with particular disease, along with genes that boost the patient's immune response to those antigens, particularly the cell-killing arm of the immune system, cytotoxic T-cells.

The project aims to improve understanding of immune response to FPV and the antigens it carries, which in turn will enable effective clinical trial protocol design.

The grant, worth $55,000 per year for three years, will be used to employ a full-time scientist based at the Hanson Institute, in South Australia.

The project will be lead by Dr John Hayball, from the University of South Australia and the Tumour Immunotherapy Laboratory (TIL) at the Hanson Institute.

"This is really the first time his relationship with Virax has been formalised in this way," said Virax CEO David Beames.

Dr Michael Brown, who is supervising Virax's late-stage prostate cancer trial and heads up the TIL at the Hanson Institute, is also a key collaborator.

Other ARC linkage project grants:

Bioactive polymers for wound healing applications Tissue Therapies, University of Queensland $590,000

Design and development of a low-cost portable biofeedback device for use in sleep induction and relaxation Compumedics RMIT University $120,000 Structure-based discovery of dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors Sanwa Kaguku Kenkyusho Monash University $80,000

Novel modes of signalling of serotonin 5-HT2c receptors TGR BioSciences University of Melbourne $87,444

Enhancing the performance of existing industrial enzymes through the application of new chemical modification technology Novapharm Research (Australia) University of New South Wales $540,000

Process induced protein aggregation CSL Bioplasma University of Melbourne $245,000

Understanding the molecular basis of virulence in Brachyspira hyodysenteriae to improve vaccine Novartis Animal Vaccines Murdoch University $225,000

Improving the efficiency of bovine oocyte maturation in vitro Cook Australia University of Adelaide $117,444

Vaccine against leptospirosis Pfizer Australia Monash University $510,000

Application of in vivo electroporation to DNA immunisation Inovio AS University of Melbourne $405,000

Long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and heart health in humans NuMega Ingredients and Analytical Reference Laboratories University of Wollongong $78,444

X-ray micro-tomography validation of HRCT-based airway measurements Woolcock Institute of Medical Research University of Sydney $285,000

The role of SGK-1 and SGK-2 in hypertension and nephropathy in diabetes mellitus GlaxoSmithKline University of Sydney $110,000

Drug particle characterisation Koda International and Shanghai Yulun New Technology RMIT University $150,000