Shréis-Scalene Sciences LLC, the US subsidiary of the Bangalore based Scalene Cybernetics Ltd, has been awarded a grant of Rs.1.13
crore (about a quarter million US$) under the US Government’s
Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) programme for 2010.
The
Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project programme targets therapeutic
discovery efforts which have shown reasonable potential to significantly
advance curing cancer within 30 years to reduce health care costs in
the US. It is also for new therapies to treat areas of unmet medical
need or prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute diseases.
According
to Prof Meena Augustus, co-founder, executive vice president &
chief scientific officer for Shréis-Scalene Sciences (North & South
America operations) the grant provided is a long awaited validation and
acceptance from key opinion leaders and the medical fraternity in the
field of oncology and orthopaedics. In the challenging current economic
scenario, US is looking to bring affordable health care to its citizens.
The grant has been awarded to use the therapeutic device, Cytotron as a
stand-alone device utilizing Rotational Field Quantum Magnetic
Resonance (RFQMR) to treat cancer and improve drug targeting and
delivery through nano-permeabilization”.
Cytotron is a novel,
patented therapeutic device, invented by Dr Rajah Vijay Kumar and his
team at Centre for Advanced Research and Development (CARD), the R&D
wing of Scalene Cybernetics Limited, an Indian Technology company.
Clinical trials for osteoarthritis and cancer have been successfully
completed at CARD campus in Bangalore. The device is expected to be
exported to the Americas, Caribbean and Mexico, following US FDA &
Health Canada mandated clinical trials.
Shréis-Scalene Sciences
LLC, USA (SSSL) was set up in 2009 and has a license from Indian
technology partner and inventor. “The QTDP grant will now see that we
contribute to the betterment of cancer patients in North and South
America” said Dr Rajah Vijay Kumar, founder and director, Scalene
Cybernetics.
The device uses Rotational Field Quantum Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance (RFQMR) to deliver highly complex quantum (packet
switched) beams in radiofrequency (RF) bands and harmonics ranging up to
300MHz in the presence of high instantaneous magnetic fields between
1mT to 6T, with specialized near field parabolic antennae. Despite the
wide array of prevailing therapies covering the entire range of the EM
spectrum - from minimally invasive (thermal) RF ablation to complex
ionizing radiation/prohibitive proton beam therapies, there is no stand
alone, whole body, multi-organ suitable therapeutic device on the market
today. The Cytotron combines RF with instantaneous NMR, to safely yet
effectively perform in vivo multi organ tissue engineering, with
minimal/no collateral damage. A clinical trial was also registered with
clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01220830) using the Cytotron to treat multiple
sclerosis. The trial is ongoing at the S-CARD campus in Bangalore.
An
International patent filed by the inventor Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar, for
the use of a Cytotron application called Focused Resonance
Nano-permeabilization (FORN) has been recently published by the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Evidence exists that the FORN
can be used as a “drug focusing and delivery tool” to non-invasively
target intractable, impervious lesions with FORN mediated
nano-permeabilization along with chemotherapy, reducing systemic
toxicities without affecting therapeutic windows.
Further, Thomas
Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia has issued a letter of intent to
conduct clinical trials using the Cytotron in brain cancer. Early
interest was received from the Centre for Prostate Disease
Research-WRAMC for the use of the Cytotron to treat prostate cancer. The
company now views that the QTDP grant would open up more doors to make
the device and the treatment available in multiple medical institutions
nationwide.