TGR nets $3m in venture funding

Unlisted Adelaide-based firm TGR Biosciences has attracted up to AUD$3 million funding from venture capital firm Nanyang Ventures to further clinical development of its treatment for oral mucositis, a debilitating side-effect of cancer treatments.

The investment, by Nanyang Ventures' Nanyang Innovation Fund, follows the in-licensing by TGR of additional whey growth factor extract (WGFE) from neighbour GroPep (ASX:GRO), and will be subject to TGR meeting certain milestones.

TGR will use the funds for the development of its product pipeline in the areas of gut and skin health including a phase II clinical trial of WGFE in mucositis patients commencing within the next 12 months.

"We are currently planning November clinical trials of a mouthwash for mucositis and then the final phase of trials before taking the product to market within a couple of years," said TGR's managing director CEO, Leanna Read. "GroPep licensed the whey growth factor extract to us -- they took it through the first trial and we are taking it further in development.

"It is a natural by-product of milk that people are consuming in lower doses all the time. It has naturally occurring proteins known to be fundamental to the tissue healing process," she said.

GroPep and collaborators have previously generated significant preclinical and clinical data, including a successful phase Ib trial conducted at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, indicating the safety and potential for WGFE to treat mucositis.

Read explained that mucositis causes many complications for chemotherapy. "It can be so severe that eating, drinking or speech is not possible. Cancer treatment may have to be delayed or suspended completely," she said.

Read said the funding from Nanyang Innovation Fund -- licensed by the federal industry department's Innovation Investment Fund program -- played a vital role, "We couldn't have gone ahead without them," she said.

Nanyang Innovation Fund CEO Dr Mike Hirshorn said TGR offered exciting prospects in its technology, business plan and management. "They have a big opportunity in regard to nutraceuticals and treating mucositis," Hirshorn said. "We are also impressed with Leanna Read as managing director."

In March this year Nanyang injected $2.5 million into Queensland firm Genetic Solutions to help its product development and international marketing initiatives.

"Over the past four years we have investigated and sourced more than 1200 business plans. TGR Biosciences is the 12th company we have invested in, and our third from the Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs)," Hirshorn said.

TRG also has other products in the pipeline, "Our strategy is to focus on food by-products," Read said. "There are a lot of by-products that can be used in treatment. They are natural products so you can get them into the market as nutraceuticals fairly quickly. We contract out the manufacturing of our products and the distribution.

"We also have a revenue stream through our SureFire assay kits which we sell to pharmaceutical and food companies and also carry out a contract screening service. We are also likely to list on the ASX in a few years."

Read said the company's autonomy was important. "If you look at the Australian setting and the licensing route you find that most companies let someone else be in charge," she said.