InnoVet Inc., an animal health care product company, hasgranted Matrix BioSciences exclusive rights to a bio-polymerdrug delivery system called MicroMatrix Technology.

Matrix BioSciences, a group of private investors in Chicago andDetroit, has provided funding for three years of research andwill give InnoVet 30 percent of all profits from thedevelopment of agricultural and veterinary products inexchange for product rights.

The bio-polymer system will be used to develop newcompounds that bind together drugs used to treat viruses andcancer, as well as chemicals used in agricultural andveterinary applications.

"We think we will be filing six patents in Matrix BioScience'sname by the end of the year," said Jesse W. Houdeshell, InnoVetpresident.

The bio-polymers can be chemically bonded to proteinsubstances such as hormones, enzymes and products derivedfrom molecular engineering to provide controlled and sustainedrelease of drugs and protein substances through oral andparenteral administration.

The system can deliver more than one molecule and canactively carry bioactive substances across tissue membranes,a process that might be applicable to oral delivery of peptidesacross the intestinal barrier, according to Houdeshell.

"We can put five insulin molecules on this bio-polymer at onetime, and by changing the bonding techniques we can get themto release at different times," Houdeshell said. "We stabilizethe insulin so it doesn't degrade while circulating through thebody, and we can extend the period of delivery to more than 15times what can normally be achieved. A single interferoninjection could last one or possibly two weeks."

InnoVet, based in Boca Raton, Fla., acquired total rights to thebio-polymer technology in May from researchers working atWayne State University.

Matrix BioSciences is seeking collaborators for licensingarrangements and is offering confidential briefings on the bio-polymer technology in mid-October that will be attended bytwo Japanese companies and four U.S. multinationals,Houdeshell said.

InnoVet also said that its board of directors has appointedDavid F. Myers chairman of its board. He replaces John T. Boone,who had been chairman and chief executive officer. Houdeshellwas appointed acting chief executive officer. Prior to joiningInnoVet, Myers was vice president of marketing and sales forOutboard Marine Corp.

-- Kris Herbst BioWorld Washington Bureau

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