Coastal Holdings purchase interest in BioSight
significant equity interest in another biotechnology business,
adding to its portfolio of acquisitions and investments in the
biotechnology and nanotechnology fields.
The Company's latest move is in keeping with its overall strategy to purchase and invest in private technology companies that possess valuable intellectual property and patents/licenses especially in nanotechnology, which the company believe will become 'the next disruptive technology.'
Coastal Holdings' investment in Biosight was accomplished with an eye on its S2DOT (Seek to Destroy Only Target) proprietary technology for identification of disease-specific markers in breast cancer. The intention of Biosight to develop novel pro-drug vectors for selective drug targeting is to capitalize on the unmet clinical need to effectively treat cancer.
While cancer research has never been more intense current treatments suffer from non-specific targeting of tumours mainly attributed to the variation and disparity typical of cancerous growths. Biosight estimate that only 2 per cent of the administered dose reaches the tumour. BioSight's S2DOT vectors objective is for 98 per cent of the administered dose to reach its target.
BioSight has already filed several worldwide patents to protect its core technologies and company's proprietary skills and the company is currently seeking funds in order to enable it to expand the development process and specifically to complete Phase II clinical trials.
"The market for Anti-Cancer agents is showing a similar trend, as it was valued at $10 billion (€8.3 billion) in 2000 and forecast to grow to more than $15 billion in 2007," said Coastal Holdings CEO Andrea Cortellazzi.
"By 2010, 80 per cent of cancer drugs will use delivery systems. BioSight Ltd. is a good fit in our portfolio of innovative and high-growth biotechnology companies," she said.
The development of this technology is expected to make good financial reading. During 2004 and 2005. According to Biosight projected income is expected to be $1.0 million and $3.5 million respectively. In 2006 income is expected to rise substantially to $25 million once the S2DOT product enters the market.
In 2007 and 2008 expected income generated from the S2DOT bladder cancer product and new applications respectively is estimated to increase to $39 million in 2007 and $61.5 million in 2008.
