Phyton Catalytic Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) haveexpanded their collaborative research and developmentfeasibility study on the large-scale production of paclitaxel, theactive ingredient in the anti-cancer drug taxol, using Phyton'sproprietary plant cell culture technology.

The multiyear, multimillion dollar agreement provides forfinancial support from BMS for paclitaxel process research anddevelopment.

Phyton Catalytic of Ithaca, N.Y., holds an exclusive license fromthe U.S. Department of Agriculture on a patent for its process ofproducing taxol from plant tissue culture. Its collaboration withBMS originated in September 1991 to develop a plant celltissue culture process for making commercial quantities of thedrug's active ingredient.

The FDA approved BMS's Taxol in December 1992 for treatingovarian cancer patients whose first-line or subsequentchemotherapy has failed. Clinical trials are under way todetermine the drug's safety and efficacy in treating othertumor types. If those pan out, the wide applicability of Taxol intreating cancer could result in a massive demand for the drug.

BMS is producing the currently approved product from thebark of the Pacific yew tree, a limited raw material as well as apolitically incorrect source. Recognizing these limitations, BMShas already been developing in-house a semisynthetic processto make the drug from the needles of the English yew tree, andexpects to make significant quantities with this method thisyear.

Still, BMS of New York has for some time been "engaged in amassive worldwide effort to establish alternative paclitaxelsources for Taxol," according to Zola Horovitz, the company'svice president of business development and planning.

"Phyton Catalytic's plant cell culture technology may become ameaningful source of long-term supply of paclitaxel," he said.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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