PharmaQest Pty Ltd
A product to prevent skin cancer
Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSCs)
is the most common form of cancer,
with over 300,000 new diagnoses made each year in Australia, and more than
a million new cases reported annually in the USA. Despite growing sun
awareness, the incidence of NMSC is increasing and the associated
healthcare costs are huge.
Enter PharmaQest, a drug development company established in 2002 as a
spin-off from UniSAs Centre for Pharmaceutical Research.
PharmaQests lead product, based on research by UniSA Professors
Allan Evans and
Ross McKinnon, is a topical R-flurbiprofen gel that will reduce the risk of
developing NMSCs on skin that is already damaged by the sun.
The R-flurbiprofen gel has successfully completed two human clinical trials
to assess safety, firstly in healthy volunteers and subsequently in people
with a history of NMSC. The next trial will evaluate the safety
and efficacy of the gel in patients at high risk of developing NMSCs.
If this nest trial succeeds, PharmaQest aims to license the
product to a larger pharmaceutical company in exchange for royalty payments
on future sales. PharmaQest is also pursuing a number of other product
development opportunities, and has to date secured more than AUD$3m in
initial funding, including a $378,000 grant from the Australian government
and over $2.5m from private investors.
Our partners
PharmaQest has a commercial collaboration with Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals
(USA), and its major shareholder is ITEK Pty Ltd, the commercial arm of
UniSA.
Staff
Ross Dobinson - chief executive officer
Richard Wadley - chief financial officer
Professor Allan Evans - R&D director
Professor Ross McKinnon - principal scientist
Kellie La Fontaine - development manager
Dr Peter Wigley - project manager
Contact
Telephone +61 8 8302 1224
Fax +61 8 8302 1405
Email kellie@pharmaqest.com.au
Website www.pharmaqest.com.au