PARIS (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) September 24, 2008 -- Nanobiotix, an emerging nanomedicine company focused on cancer therapy, announced today that the Company and its partner, Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp), will initially focus their collaboration on developing point-of-care (P-O-C) diagnostics and drug delivery systems for tropical diseases, such as malaria. BiotechCorp has acquired an exclusive, global license to a Nanobiotix nanotechnology platform for non-cancer purposes. As part of the collaboration, three BiotechCorp scientists will take up residence at Nanobiotix for a period of 12 months to undergo the technology transfer training.

We are proud to be the first partner of Nanobiotix outside of its cancer focus

We firmly believe that the opportunity to help save millions of lives is in fact a near-term possibility as a result of this collaboration between BiotechCorp and Nanobiotix. Additionally, this collaboration is a significant testimony to the readiness of the Malaysian biotechnology industry in commercializing science to market, whilst addressing challenges in our part of the world.

BiotechCorp offers Nanobiotix a direct route through Asia

Certainly, their strategic location in the heart of Asia, along with Malaysia's pro-business government, political stability, and cost-effective base for doing business are among the many good reasons we have chosen to partner with BiotechCorp.

Malaria is a disease that can be transmitted to people of all ages through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Approximately 40% of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. Every year, more than 500 million people worldwide become severely ill with malaria. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of malaria disease will shorten its duration and prevent the development of complications and the great majority of deaths from malaria.

“We are proud to be the first partner of Nanobiotix outside of its cancer focus,” said BiotechCorp’s CEO Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood. “We firmly believe that the opportunity to help save millions of lives is in fact a near-term possibility as a result of this collaboration between BiotechCorp and Nanobiotix. Additionally, this collaboration is a significant testimony to the readiness of the Malaysian biotechnology industry in commercializing science to market, whilst addressing challenges in our part of the world.”

“BiotechCorp offers Nanobiotix a direct route through Asia,” said Laurent Lévy, Ph.D., President and CEO of Nanobiotix and Co-President of the French Technology Platform on Nanomedicine (FTPN). “Certainly, their strategic location in the heart of Asia, along with Malaysia’s pro-business government, political stability, and cost-effective base for doing business are among the many good reasons we have chosen to partner with BiotechCorp.”

Dr. Lévy will be a keynote speaker on nanotechnology at “Bio Malaysia 2008”—the Malaysian global biotechnology event that will take place from October 7-9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For further details about this event, please visit www.biomalaysia.com.my.

ABOUT BIOTECHCORP

BiotechCorp is the lead development agency for the biotech industry in Malaysia and acts as a central contact point providing support, facilitation and advisory services for life sciences companies in Malaysia. Since its establishment in 2005, BiotechCorp has played a key role in building the biotech business in Malaysia. To date, BiotechCorp has facilitated the development of 71 BioNexus-status companies in Malaysia, with total approved investment of US$400 million (RM1.3 billion). BioNexus-status companies are international and Malaysian biotech companies that qualify for fiscal incentives, grants and guarantees administered by BiotechCorp. For further details, please visit www.biotechcorp.com.my.

ABOUT NANOBIOTIX

Nanobiotix is an emerging nanomedicine company combining dramatic advances in nanotechnology and molecular biology to develop nanoXray™— a technology platform that is expected to be turned ‘on’ and ‘off’ outside the body to selectively treat a variety of cancers safely and noninvasively. Use of nanoXray is intended to resolve radiation therapy’s biggest drawback: destruction of healthy tissue and its subsequent deleterious side effects when a high dose of Xray is necessary. The core of a nanoXray nanoparticle is an inactive and inert substance—not a drug—that can be activated to locally (intratumor) increase the dose of Xray, which is then expected to lead to higher efficiency. After nanoXray nanoparticles accumulate in the target tissues, a standard X-ray is applied that is intended to generate a local therapeutic effect, designed to destroy only the targeted tumor cells. This mechanism suggests total control of the intended therapeutic effect.

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