Aust. company claims career ‘breakthrough’

Press, 6 January 1987, Page 27

Aust. company claims career ‘breakthrough’

NZPA-AAP Sydney An Australian company has claimed a breakthrough in the battle against cancer. The company has announced the discovery of what it says is the first Australian - sponsored genetically engineered anti-cancer agent —• a world first in the fight against the disease. The discovery has been made by scientists at the Israeli Institute for Biological Research, sponsored by the Sydneybased Medical Resources, s.td, a company -which

specialises in bio-techno-logy research. The anti-cancer agent, called Interlukin 11, was a lymphokine, one of a group of naturally occurring parts of the body’s immune system, already being used in cancer treatments, said Medical Resources’ managing director, Mr Milton Ellis. In the past similar drugs have been produced by genetic cloning. „ The new process means Interlukin II can be made by a chemical synthesis of human genes, a prtocess controlled by a computer

programmed by scientists. Using the computer process, synthesised genes could be continually modified to enable them to combat specific forms of cancer, as well as the rejection problems caused by transplant operations, Mr Ellis said. The new technique also meant that production of Interlukin II could be stepped up and produced more cheaply. According to MRL, the genetically cloned supply cannot keep up with demand.