Woburn, Mass. – October 15, 2019 − Aphios Corporation today announced that it has been granted Chinese Patent No. ZL201380069328.2 by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China. The patent is entitled “Bryoid Compositions, Methods of Making and Use Thereof.” The patented claims cover novel composition of matter and methods of manufacturing. They also cover use of the novel Bryoid, Bryostatin-22, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, virus latency diseases such as HIV and Herpes, cancers and amyloid mediated diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and glaucoma.
According to Dr. Trevor P. Castor, President and CEO, Aphios Corporation, and inventor of this patent: “This novel Bryoid, Bryostatin-22, is a highly potent nanomolar activator of a-secretase activity in neuroblastoma cell models, being more effective than Bryostatin-1 at increasing activity of all protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms, particularly the novel PKC isoforms, delta and epsilon. Aphios plans to develop this compound for multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV-1 latency and other diseases, and is seeking collaborative research and licensing partners.”
Bryoids consist of a family of Bryostatins, such as Bryostatin-1, that are complex cyclic macrolide molecules. Bryoids were originally isolated from the marine bryozoan, Bulgula neritina, in small quantities. Methods of synthesis being developed are complex and costly. Twenty-one Bryoid compositions, known as Bryostatins and numbered 1-21, have been identified. Many of these Bryoids are known to have anticancer properties.
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Down syndrome, Huntington’s, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, multiple sclerosis, kuru and other spongiform encephalopathies remain major health problems. Currently, there are no or very limited means to treat these diseases. These neurogenerative diseases are associated with the formation of beta amyloid (β-amyloid) plaques. Bryoids stimulate the production of certain isoforms of PKC that increase the production of an enzyme called alpha-secretase (α-secretase) which makes a soluble amyloid precursor protein, thus inhibiting the formation of toxic β-amyloid plaques. With respect to cancers such as prostate cancer, Bryoids inhibit phorbol ester-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells by differentially modulating protein kinase C delta (PKC-d) translocation and preventing PKC-d-mediated release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα). With respect to latent virus diseases such as HIV-1 latency, Bryoids activate cellular transcription factors such as NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa of activated B-cells) that binds the HIV-1 promoter and up-regulates its transcriptional activity which converts the latent virus into a HIV-1 virion that can be cleared from the body by its immune system or antiretroviral therapy.
About Aphios Corporation: Aphios Corporation (www.aphios.com) is an emerging growth, green biotechnology company developing enabling technology platforms for improving drug discovery, manufacturing, delivery and safety, and enhanced natural therapeutics for health maintenance and disease prevention, and the treatment of cancers and supportive care, infectious diseases such as HIV, and nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer pain and opioid addiction.
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