Celex Laboratories Inc. has licensed its patented process ofproducing taxol from root cultures to an unnamed company.

Established in 1987, privately held Celex of Vancouver, BritishColumbia, focuses on genetically transforming yew treeseedlings (Taxus brevifolia) into root cultures. The seedlingsare infected with strains of certain bacteria, and the bacteriacauses the seedlings to produce hairy roots, which, according toCelex, grow in culture much more quickly than normal rootsand can be cloned repeatedly.

The company said the roots double in size in half a day andafter three weeks are mature enough for extraction of taxanesfor the manufacture of taxol. Celex patented the process earlierthis year.

In September, Multiplex Technologies Inc. acquired a majorityinterest in Celex, subject to approval by the Vancouver StockExchange. Multiplex is in the business of acquiring cutting-edgetechnology for commercial development.

Multiplex's director of corporate marketing and investorrelations, Ron Davies, said Celex's patented process can be usedto mass-produce extracts from any plant, including periwinkleand ginseng. Celex has imported ginseng seeds from China to begrown into seedlings. Celex's licensee will have rights to useCelex's technology to produce other pharmaceutical compounds.

Davis said Celex hopes to produce taxanes within 12 monthsand is establishing manufacturing facilities in New Brunswick,Canada, and Malaysia to meet initial demand.

Forestry giant Weyerhaeuser is collaborating with Celex intechnology development, but the terms of the collaborationwere not disclosed. In addition, Celex noted that a multinationalpharmaceutical company is discussing the purchase of Celexchemicals as the starting material for its anti-cancer agent.

The only approved source of taxol is currently the bark fromthe Pacific yew; deriving taxol from the cultured roots of theyew is a new approach. Celex believes it will have a costadvantage over other producers of the chemical since itstechnology eliminates the expenses associated with inextraction and purification.

-- Brenda Sandburg News Editor

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.