Oncology and Supportive Care

Cancer is an insidious and tragic disease affecting millions of Americans, often when they are in their prime. Breast cancer will affect 1 of every 8 women in the United States, with around 230,000 new cases diagnosed and 40,000 deaths each year. Prostate cancer will affect 1 of every 6 men in the United States, with 240,000 new cases diagnosed and 34,000 deaths each year. There are several other difficult to diagnose and treat cancers such as pancreatic cancer that has recently claimed the lives of Apple genius Steve Jobs, the immunology Nobel Prize winner Dr. Ralph Steinman, the great actor-dancer Patrick Wayne Swayze and a number of unheralded Americans. Cancers not only cause untimely deaths but often significantly impact the quality of life, partly owing to cancer itself and partly because of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy treatment.

At Aphios, we are researching and developing anticancer therapeutics and supportive care drugs from medicinal plants and marine organisms based on our enabling technology platforms of drug discovery, manufacturing, and delivery:

• Zindol®, an enhanced ginger product in gel capsules, recently completed a successful multi-center Phase II/III randomized, placebo-controlled, 644-patient clinical trial as an adjuvant to conventional 5HT3 anti-emetics for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).
• APH-0701 is a nanosomal formulation of a targeted, nontoxic Vitamin-D derivative for hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPCA), designed to have increased antiproliferative effects while reducing systemic toxicity through increased specificity.
• APH-0911 is a Taxotere®-Prodrug encapsulated in biodegradable polymer nanospheres using Aphios’ proprietary PNS technology to enhance oral bioavailability for chronic chemotherapy or as a chemopreventive, similar to aspirin.
• APH-0912 is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) attached to the Taxotere®-Prodrug for metastatic breast cancer and other metastatic cancers.
• APH-0804 is a combination of Tdp1 inhibitors such as tetracycline and Top1 inhibitors such as topotecan or irinotecan, co-encapsulated in phospholipid nanosomes.
• Taxosomes™ a nanosomal formulation of paclitaxel that will reduce toxicity, enhance efficacy and improve patients’ quality-of-life.
• Camposomes™ is a nanosomal formulation of camptothecin, a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor, being developed for colorectal and pancreatic cancers.
• Dermos™, a nanosomal formulation of paclitaxel, for Kaposi’s sarcoma and skin cancers.
• APH-0201, an orally bioavailable formulation of betulinic acid, for melanoma.
• Sperol™, an enhanced Saw Palmetto botanical drug for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Our goal at Aphios is to develop therapies to treat cancer as a chronic rather than acute disease, provide the least toxic and mostly plant-based natural drugs such as nanoformulations of Taxol® and Taxotere® that we can utilize in an acute setting until long-term preventative solutions can be developed, and to provide supportive care for cancer patients undergoing acute treatment.