Novogen, Genea testing drugs for genetic diseases

Novogen (ASX:NRT) has revealed it is testing one of its cancer-focused drug families in a range of genetic and degenerative diseases, and has already generated some promising results.

The company is collaborating with Australia’s Genea Biocells on a pilot program aimed at developing drugs for diseases including muscular dystrophy, motor neurone disease, Huntington’s Disease, cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s.

A pilot drug from the family being tested has proved highly cytotoxic against the first screen - stem cells from a neuromuscular dystrophy disease isolated by Genea.

Novogen CEO Graham Kelly said the genesis of this pilot research is the discovery that the drug family being examined induces apoptosis in cancer cells. The company’s scientist began to speculate that the same compounds may be effective in common degenerative diseases.

“The more we work with cancer stem cells, the more we have come to suspect that the action of our drugs is not so much the fact that the stem cells are cancerous, but that they are behaving abnormally,” he said.

“It was this suspicion that led us to this pilot study looking at their effect on abnormal stem cells responsible for causing degenerative diseases ... This early data completely supports our hypothesis.”

Kelly said the company’s immediate focus will remain on developing anticancer drugs, but that the compounds’ effect in genetic and degenerative disorders can’t be ignored.

“As a result of this discovery, we now are committing the necessary resources to take this program to its next phase, which is to design and screen drugs against a wide range of stem cells associated with diseases such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Fragile X, Huntington’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Last week, the company entered a joint venture with Yale University aimed at developing treatments for ovarian cancer based on Novogen’s super-benzopryan technology. Longer term, the JV aims to develop personalised chemotherapeutics based on a cancer’s own stem cells.

Novogen (ASX:NRT) shares grew 34.09% on Thursday after the discovery was announced. The shares were trading 16.95% lower at $0.245 as of around 1.30 pm on Friday.