Sirona Biochem Corp. (SBM:CA)

Launched in 2008, Sirona Biochem specializes in carbohydrate-based chemistry.  We have partnered with TFChem of France to develop sodium glucose transporter (SGLT) inhibitors for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Using a proprietary chemistry technique, we aim to improve the properties of carbohydrate-based drugs to make them more commercially viable. 
Sirona Biochem's partner TFChem has developed a chemistry technique that we believe can enhance carbohydrate-based molecules.  Carbohydrate-based molecules offer immense potential for the development of therapeutics, cosmeceuticals and biological ingredients.  But these types of molecules are finicky and usually unstable as they tend to break down, making them challenging to produce.  A proprietary fluorination process is used to enhance the properties of these molecules. 
We believe this chemistry method can be applied to drugs in development to improve their properties, discontinued drugs that may have been shelved for stability reasons, or for the development of new products for cosmetics and biological manufacturing.  Using this proprietary chemistry process, we feel the commercial value of carbohydrate-based molecules can be maximized.
Sirona Biochem plans to apply this chemistry expertise towards the development of diabetes and obesity therapeutics, anti-aging cosmetic ingredients and biological ingredients.
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Technology

Development Pipeline

Sirona Biochem specializes in the development of carbohydrate-based molecules. Our partner, TFChem, and their award-winning synthetic chemists have developed a proprietary chemistry technique with an aim to improve these typically finicky molecules.  While carbohydrate-based molecules offer immense commercial potential, the focus will be on three programs – diabetes and obesity therapeutics, anti-aging cosmetic ingredients and biological ingredients.
Diabetes and Obesity Therapeutics - SGLT2-inhibitors (Sodium-Dependent Glucose Transporters)
Together with TFChem, Sirona Biochem is developing SGLT-2 inhibitors for Type 2 diabetes and obesity. SGLT inhibitors are a potential new class of drugs for diabetes and obesity. They work differently from traditional Type 2 diabetes therapeutics which increase insulin production in the pancreas. In the kidneys, SGLT inhibitors reduce the reabsorption of glucose into the bloodstream by excreting excess glucose into the urine.



The kidneys filter approximately 180 gm of glucose per day from the blood which is then mostly reabsorbed back into the blood. SGLT Inhibitors inhibit the glucose reabsorption process, such that excess glucose is excreted in the urine, rather than reabsorbed into the bloodstream. That is to say, they have a hypoglycemic effect. This is a new promising potential treatment for Type 2 diabetes and obesity. 



Sirona Biochem is conducting preclinical tests on an SGLT-2 inhibitor for diabetes and obesity. While there is no SGLT-2 inhibitor currently on the market, the most advanced drug candidate of its kind is in Phase 3 clinical trials. Sirona Biochem aims to develop an improved, best-in-class product.

Cosmeceuticals - Anti-aging ingredients
Our partner TFChem is applying its chemistry methods to develop anti-aging cosmetic ingredients.  We believe our carbohydrate-based molecules may be able to maintain the viability of adult skin fibroblasts by protecting the fibroblasts from oxidative stress and UV radiation.



Biological ingredients
Sirona Biochem believes that there is a large market potential for the development of carbohydrate-based molecules for biological manufacturing.  We feel this chemistry technology can be used for the development of laboratory solutions, organ transplantation and for the preservation of stem/is
let cells.  This could be valuable in the production of insulin, human growth hormone, vaccines, interferon (anti-viral/bacterial/parasitic/tumour) and interleukin-2 (immune).

Disease

Type II Diabetes



Diabetes is a very serious disease.  It is characterized by the inability of the body to self-regulate proper blood glucose levels, which is the most basic fuel for the cells comprising the human body.  The body requires relatively constant levels of blood glucose, which can be difficult to maintain, especially with relatively large meals spread out over the course of the day.  A function of the liver is to store glucose produced from meals and release it into the blood stream to maintain adequate blood glucose levels.  In order to know how much glucose to secrete, and when to do so, the liver must have a sense of relative blood glucose levels at all times.  With diabetic patients, the blood glucose regulation process goes awry in one way or another. Insulin is the hormone which is produced by the pancreas to regulate blood glucose levels.  Diabetes is characterized by frequent states of abnormally high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia). Hyperglycemia is caused either when the pancreas fails to produce sufficient levels of insulin or when the body fails to respond adequately to the insulin produced by the body.  Persistent hyperglycemia can have profound long-term ramifications for the patient.  Over time, hyperglycemia can damage the eyes, kidneys and nerves. 



According to the Canadian Diabetes Association,  (the CDA), as of 2005, more than 2 million people in Canada, representing over 6% of the population, suffered from diabetes.  On a larger scale, the World Health Organization estimated that in the year 2000, there were approximately 23 million people in North America and 177 million people globally who had diabetes.  As the population ages in developed countries, lifestyle and dietary habits increasingly place many more people at risk.  If these trends continue, the number of people with diabetes is expected to double by 2025, according to CDA data.  It is also estimated that as many as 44% of people with diabetes are currently undiagnosed, according to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in the United States from 1988-1994.
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