Ferronova cancer tracers ready for human trials
Summary
s spin-out biotech company Ferronova has completed the first batch of manufacturing at UniSAs state of the art GMP facility and is in the process of beginning human trials of their new cancer seeking technology at the Royal Adelaide HosThe technology is designed to dramatically increase the accuracy of identifying the early spread of solid tumour cancers , including those in the head and neck, prostate, breast, colon, cervix, and lung of which there are over 10 million new cases globally per year.Ferronovas nanoparticles are injected around primary tumours where they then travel to nearby lymph nodes, following the same pathway as cancer cells. The lymph nodes are imaged using MRI and detected using intraoperative surgical magnetic detectors or infrared cameras, including those on robotic surgery equipment. After surgery, the remaining nanoparticles are designed to be rapidly excreted from the body.Ferronova Chief Executive Stewart Bartlett says the company was fortunate to have the support of the University of South Australia and access to their world class GMP facility.Ferronova was formed as a spin-out company by UniSA Ventures and VicLink, with seed investment from Powerhouse Venture and sophisticated investors. The company is currently raising investment to fund these additional trials.Ferronova collaborates with University of South Australia experts PhD scientist Valentina Milanova, and Professor Benjamin Thierry. Ms Milanova, who has been collaborating on manufacturing the particles for human trials, said working with Ferronova on new cancer technology was an outstanding opportunity for women in science.Being at the cutting-edge of nanotechnology in medicine is really exciting and its wonderful that we can be driving this innovation from South Australia.