Soligenix Highlighted In "Life Science Leader" Article As Company To Watch
A spotlight has recently been shone on Soligenix(OTCBB:SNGX), with the company drawing all sorts of attention from the recent fundraising support of pharmaceutical billionaire entrepeneur R.J. Kirk, to two collaborative drug development deals and a vaccine that is garnering hype in light of the ricin toxin scare.
The press has been writing on it as well. The company was just featured in the July issue of Life Science Leader, the subject of an article titled, "Soligenix - Strong federal support and a unique model centered on biodefense therapeutics and vaccines drive this company - and our interest in it".
The writer, Wayne Koberstein, highlights Soligenix's recent accomplishments, the most recent of which was another collaboration agreement, this time with SciClone Pharmaceuticals for its lead candidate SGX942. The news comes just weeks after it signed a collaboration deal with Intrexon - a company backed by billionaire Kirk - forSoligenix's Melioidosis drug. Melioidosis is listed as a top five high-priority threat in the HHS2012 public health emergency medical countermeasures enterprise strategic plan.
The company is focused on developing products to treat inflammatory diseases and biodefense countermeasures, with its product of most current interest, according to Koberstein's piece, being RiVax, a vaccine to protect against ricin poisoning, now entering phase 2 trials. RiVax has received U.S. federal funding and, if approved, would likely be purchased under government contract.
"I almost feel as if there's no need to say very much about why Soligenix is a company to watch. These days, all I should have to say is "ricin." But I could also say "anthrax, radiation enteritis, GI graft vs. host disease," or any of the key areas addressed by the company's pipeline products - as well as any number of future vaccines that may someday benefit from its heat-stabilizing ThermoVax technology," the article takes note.
Aside from the ThermoVax vaccine thermostabilization technology in its biodefense unit and the RiVax vaccine, the SGX942 drug, an innate defense regulator, is being developed to treat oral mucositis in solid tumor patients, especially those with head and neck cancer, while its SGX203 drug is being developed as a potential treatment for pediatric Crohn's disease.
The SGX942 candidate recently received investigational new drug clearance from the U.S. FDA, with a phase II clinical trial set to start by the end of the year.
Koberstein concluded: "For its unique funding and business model, its novel technologies and products, and for its partnering potential, Soligenix will remain a company to watch well into the future.
"Whether it remains in the headlines once the ricin scare fades is yet to be determined. But considering the company's orientation toward some of society's greatest recurring terrors and threats, it will not likely stay in the shadows for long."
Indeed, the company's stock has soared over 78 per cent so far this year, as investors eagerly anticipate Soligenix's path forward.
To read the Life Science Leader article in full, please click here.
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