Burnaby biotech on trail of terrorism toolSeptember 19-25, 2006Business in Vancouver By Krisendra Bisetty Twinstrand Therapeutics Inc. attracting global interest for its work in developing an antidote to ricin, a lethal poison used by terrorists The search for an antidote to a deadly poison linked to assassins, terrorists and biological warfare has turned to B.C., where a small Burnaby drug development company says it’s on the brink of a breakthrough. Twinstrand Therapeutics Inc. believes that a counter-measure to ricin, feared for its potential as a bio-terror agent, could be available in as short as two years’ time. While the company focuses on oncology drugs – it has a lead drug targeting ovarian and lung cancers that’s in the first phase of clinical trials – and drugs for viral and parasitic diseases, it uses molecules with properties similar to ricin. As a result, it has also been separately running self-funded, non-human tests on a ricin counter-measure and the results, Twinstrand president and CEO Dr. Thor Borgford said in an interview, are promising. In testing done on animals exposed to the poison, the company was able to demonstrate a successful recovery, he said. Now a United States Department of Defense agency tasked with safeguarding the country from weapons of mass destruction wants Twinstrand to develop its research for a human version. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical and Biological Defense has awarded Twinstrand a US$1.9 million two-year contract to research and develop a product. Ricin is a highly toxic protein derived from the widely-available castor bean plant and, with its history as a bio-terror agent, presents an ongoing threat to military personnel and civilian populations, said Borgford, who founded Twinstrand in 1995 as a Simon Fraser University spin-off. Ricin ranks high up on the list of bio-terror agents, but below those like anthrax. According to the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ricin can be used in the form of a powder, a mist or a pellet. It can also be dissolved in water. While it has potential medical uses, such as killing cancer cells, as little as 500 micrograms of ricin could be enough, said the agency, to kill an adult within 72 hours, depending on whether it’s inhaled, ingested or injected. A 500-microgram dose is about the size of the head of a pin. The poison gained notoriety in 1978 when it was used to assassinate Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov, who died in London from a ricin-filled dart that was fired from a rigged umbrella. Reports also point to its use during the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980s. Ricin was also found in Afghanistan hideouts of terrorist group Al Qaeda. “There have been a number of incidents, and every year there are reports of ricin poisoning or attempts at ricin poisoning,” said Borgford. “And because there’s no antidote for this molecule, it threatens people; it scares people.” Borgford said Twinstrand will use some of the molecules it had already generated in its therapeutic program to jumpstart the development of the ricin counter-measure. “And in so doing, we save ourselves literally many millions of dollars in advancing this program.” Development of a counter-measure is projected to be completed in 2008, by which time Twinstrand expects to have filed two Investigational New Drug applications. At that point, the product, even without the completion of full clinical trials, becomes a procurement candidate for civilian and military authorities to stockpile for emergency use, not only in the United States, but also in Europe and in Canada. Twinstrand, a private 20-employee company financed by venture capital, used a Washington-based legal and lobbying firm to get on the U.S. government’s radar screen, after being lured by the generous research funding. It’s already recognized as a worldwide expert in plant toxins, but developing the first ricin antidote would further boost the company’s international profile, said Pat Brady, vice-president for investments in life sciences for venture capital management firm GrowthWorks Capital Ltd. Brady said many western governments recognize the poison’s potential danger if it falls into the wrong hands and are consequently eager to acquire antidotes. He said recent announcements of contracts worth several hundred million dollars for the purchase of antidotes to anthrax or the botulinum toxin illustrated the potential revenues for bio-terror products. GrowthWorks has been an investor in Twinstrand since 1998 and is its largest shareholder. Other investors include Fairway Capital Management Corp. and Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund Inc., which has invested $3.5 million in the company. Borgford said Twinstrand is poised for rapid growth once the antidote is ready. However, in order of magnitude, the success of its therapeutics programs would be more valuable than the antidote, he said. |
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