NextGen Bioscience, Inc. is a drug target acquisition and development company focused on identifying, evaluating and acquiring pioneering innovative cancer research patents, and adding substantial value to those products to demonstrate ‘proof of principle’. The Company is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to fight cancer, in prostate and breast cancer. “NextGen” leverages cutting-edge research collaborations to achieve breakthroughs in anti-cancer treatments, and then licenses these patented drug product candidates to Big Pharmaceutical companies. All acquisition candidates are underpinned by patent applications or granted patents which confer protection in the major jurisdictions worldwide.
NextGen’s business model is based on acquiring promising new patented technologies in the fields of cancer and infectious disease, to add significant value to these by advancing them through toxicological assessment or Phase I clinical trials and then outlicensing the technology to a larger partner who has the necessary infrastructure to take the products to market. Revenues generated from licensing activities will then be reinvested in research and development by NextGen to benefit patients, partners and the Company’s investors.
NextGen’s target market, therapeutic cancer agents, is the world’s largest disease market, exploding at a 20% growth rate each year and reaching a phenomenal global market volume of approximately $30 Billion, and projected to rise to $60.6 Billion by 2011. Based upon deals achieved by other successful drug targets in the industry, in the event that NextGen’s proprietary product candidates successfully target significant unmet needs, the Company can expect up to $100 million in milestone payments per licensed product during clinical trials, and up to $400 million per annum in the years (up to 20 years) following commercialization. NextGen’s licensing fees could grow to $700 million per annum per product with market growth. This represents a significant catalyst for company growth which will in turn greatly benefit stakeholders.
At present, NextGen is rapidly building its portfolio of proprietary biotechnology. All of NextGen’s product candidates target disease indications which represent a significant unmet need, as well as having significant potential market values. The Company’s patented drug and product portfolio includes a prostate cancer target and a breast cancer target as well as a promising acquisition pipeline. These two anti-tumor drug candidates, Prostaganin (prostate cancer) and Tetanolic (breast cancer) — both have incredible market potential. With the potential to treat cancer in a way that is effective and safe for the patient without side effects, they may ultimately eliminate the need for surgery and chemotherapy. An exciting acquisition pipeline, including in oncology therapeutics, cancer vaccines and anti-bacterial drugs, ensures that the Company is constantly positioned as a leader in the forefront of developments in treating cancer and infectious disease. All of NextGen’s product candidates target disease indications which represent a significant unmet need, as well as having blockbuster potential market values.
Based in London and with a World Class Management team and Scientific Advisory Board, NextGen’s mission is to create a new generation of targeted human therapeutics which are safe and effective against a broad range of cancers and infectious diseases. The Company’s significant features of approach are to –
* Identify promising R&D projects
* Keep operating costs to a minimum
* Outlicense to outsource all product development
* Collaborate with specialist service providers and Universities
* Add significant value at low cost
Key parameters differentiating NextGen from other biotechnology companies:
1. NextGen’s Corporate focus is devoted to identification, evaluation and acquisition of drug targets and subsequent value addition to maximize benefits to stakeholders.
2. The Company’s World-class Management Team and Scientific Advisory Board directs product development, each with specialist experience in this field.
3. Potential value is built in the portfolio of pending patent applications for treatment of difficult to treat cancers – NextGen’s proprietary Intellectual Property.
4. The Pipeline of acquisition candidates being evaluated is derived from global collaborations with other biotechnology companies and Universities.
5. Strategy of acquiring candidates aims to target indications with significant unmet needs and blockbuster market potential.
6. Due to outsourcing strategy, NextGen maintains a Highly Flexible organization and low fixed overheads.
7. The Company obtains Leverage of resources through collaboration with well established service providers and academic laboratories.
8. The Company’s Opportunistic approach is characterized by swift decision making and ability to redirect research and business efforts quickly and at low cost, to maximize partnering activities.
NextGen’s business model of global outsourcing, international collaboration, early stage partnering, the benefit of advice from leading experts in the field and use of regulatory fast-tracking ensures accelerated drug development – and early exit to larger biotech or pharma companies which have the necessary infrastructure to develop the products further.
Early stage partnering has become a core component of both biotech and pharmaceutical business strategy, allowing companies to access promising new and emerging compounds and technologies. In this constantly growing dealmaking arena of the pharmaceutical industry, big pharmaceutical companies are forecast to receive around 40-50% of their revenue from in-licensed products by 2010 (Pharmalicensing, 2006). Dealmaking activity has also increased in the early stages of development, in value as well as number. The average early stage deal value has risen from $65.3 Million in 2001 to $125.1 Million in 2005 (Burrill & Company, 2006).
NextGen’s Therapeutic Focus – Indication Areas
1. Prostate cancer
2. Breast cancer
3. Colorectal cancer
Recent cancer research has identified a distinct population of cells inside a tumor that is capable of generating new tumors. These cells are called cancer stem cells because they share the replication and repair functions of stem cells. NextGen’s treatment niche is to target therapies against the cancer stem cells themselves, to prevent recurrence at a later stage. Recent data showed that certain cytokine proteins, such as lnterleukin-4 and lnterleukin-10, actively protect tumor cells from death by exposure to conventional drugs (Stassi et al 2003). NextGen’s technology relates to the identification of cancer stem cells in solid tumors through the use of specific antibodies to target and neutralize the cytokines responsible for protecting the tumors.
Infectious diseases comprise an emerging indication area for NextGen, particularly hospital acquired infections such as MRSA. MRSA infections are becoming more prevalent in healthcare settings: in 1974, MRSA infections accounted for two percent of the total number of infections; in 1995 it was 22 percent; and in 2004 it was 63 percent (US Centers for Disease Control, 2007). The bacteria responsible are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics. One of NextGen’s potential acquisition candidates will target hospital acquired infections such as MRSA.
The Company is evaluating the potential of a protein drug which has shown potency in preventing bacterial infection. This product has a novel mechanism of action and could potentially revolutionarise the prevention of hospital acquired infections, such as MRSA or C.difficile. Other new product candidates being evaluated for potential acquisition include a number of biological products which enable the destruction of a broad range of solid tumors, including colorectal and ovarian cancers.
Global Collaboration
On February 21 NextGen signed a Letter of Intent to come to a collaboration agreement with SymbioTec GmbH (”SymbioTec”), a German company that has developed and patented ONCOHIST, an effective and commercially attractive cancer-fighting compound. Cell culture and in vivo studies demonstrated that ONCOHIST is active against a variety of solid tumors like breast, ovarian and lung cancer as well as blood cancer types including drug-resistant cancers. Due to its unique mode of action and promising clinical outcomes, SymbioTec expects that ONCOHIST will act synergistically with several classes of approved cancer drugs in combination therapies or has the potential to replace current chemotherapies.
On February 19 NextGen announced that it was in collaboration negotiations with Warburg Glycomed, a biopharmaceutical company that has developed a new class of drugs which has shown potent anti-cancer properties in animal models. Warburg Glycomed has a patent-protected compound that is able to reprogram cancer cells by modulating their aerobic glucose metabolism, which affects their ability to grow. Warburg Glycomed has expressed keen interest in collaborating with NextGen in a signed Letter of Intent.
Accomplished Management and Scientific Advisory Board
Typifying its world class member scientists, in January NextGen announced that Dr. Rolf Witte had joined its Scientific Advisory Board of esteemed scientists and entrepreneurial leaders. Dr. Rolf Witte is Founder, Partner and CEO of fundamenta CAPITAL AG based in Leverkusen Germany. fundamenta is a hands-on investment fund focused in the Biotech, Pharma, Medical Device and new technology sectors. Rolf is also Chief Financial Officer of CMI GmbH, a contract medical device company based in Dresden, Germany. Prior to founding fundamenta, Dr. Witte was CEO of Pegasus Beteiligungen AG, a publicly traded investment fund. Other past positions include numerous CFO positions of European textile companies, and work as a lawyer specializing in audit and tax advice. Dr. Witte’s academic background includes degrees in Economics and Law, Dipl. Kfm. and Ass. iur., as well as a Ph.D. in tax law from the University of Goettingen. He also was awarded a research fellowship by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungs Gemeinschaft) for researching VAT harmonization at the European Commission in Brussels. As a result of his illustrious career, Dr. Witte has a thorough knowledge of the public funding in Germany and has been successful in raising over $200 million for a number of biotech companies.
“Dr. Witte’s 20 years of financial experience and his specialized expertise in investing in new biotechnologies will make an excellent addition to our Scientific Advisory Board,” said Konstantinos Kardiasmenos, CEO of NextGen. “Dr. Witte’s contributions will form a strategic link to the financial and private equity industries for NextGen.”
David Cooper is Chairman of NextGen’s Board of Directors. For over 30 years David has led David Cooper Associates as an independent business development practice, helping clients achieve commercial advantage from technology based new business development programmes. He has advised clients in identifying opportunities to add value, optimise the allocation of resources, and how to drive the implementation process. DCA sits upon a deep experience of providing flexible strategies based upon well researched advice and creative problem solving in the high risk activity and complexity, and volatile economic climate of the technology based global business market.
Konstantinos Kardiasmenos, NextGen’s CEO holds a Bachelor (with Honours) Degree in Economics from the University of Essex, England and a DEUG (Higher Diploma) in Economics from University of Sorbonne, Paris. He has passed the English FSA Exam for Futures and Options Representative. At Titan Capital Management Ltd. (a fund management company in London) he held the position of Investment Manager and specialized in structured finance until 2001. Konstantinos engineered financial products, which included mutual funds for the Greek market and risk management models. Konstantinos was responsible for raising a total of $7 million in equity for Kotsovolos (largest electric retailer in Greece) and a cosmetics company in London. At PMG SA (Athens based venture capital company) he was Risk Manager until 2004, advising the board of investment opportunities, which brought incremental profits of $5 million over two years. He currently has his own independent financial advisory firm, which advises the biotech, shipping, construction and retail industries.
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