Thrombogenix to change its name

Kinase and blood-clotting disease research group Thrombogenix is within weeks of a name change intended to reflect a broader focus.

The privately-owned Melbourne company, based at Box Hill Hospital, has gained board approval to change its trade name to Kinacia.

CEO Dr Ross Murdoch said the company was now awaiting government approval, with the new moniker expected to become official within three weeks.

Murdoch said the decision to move away from the Thrombogenix name was to avoid confusion with a similarly-named Irish company and to reflect the fact the company has assets outside the field of thrombosis.

"We have toyed with the idea of a name change for a while and what eventually encouraged us to do it was because of a company in Ireland called ThromboGenics that was causing confusion, especially in the US," he said.

"Also surrounding our decision was the idea that the company is wider than thrombosis."

Murdoch said the company had interests in oncology, inflammation and restenosis - the re-blocking of blood vessels after balloon angioplasty.

He said that while the company had leads in these areas, they had not yet progressed to the clinical trial stage.

It has also developed a clinical device to measure the propensity of platelets to clot in at-risk patients, with the third generation prototype currently in clinical trials.

The group's primary research focus has been on a particular kinase family that is responsible for intracellular signalling, which they found to have specialised functions within thrombotic, tumour and inflammatory cells.

Its lead intravenous compound will enter human trials in the first quarter of 2002, with animal studies showing the drug could inhibit unwanted clot formation without affecting normal clotting.

Thrombogenix currently has about 230 novel patented compounds on its books, with follow-up intravenous and oral medications about nine months behind the lead compound.

The company, which shares laboratories and facilities with Monash University's Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, began operation in 1997 and is supported by funds from venture capital, private investors and two Federal R&D Start grants worth $3.5 million.

The similarly-named ThromboGenics was founded in Ireland in 1998 and has two blood clot dissolving agents in Phase II trials.