Galaxon announced Seyfertin: A novel cancer drug

As the most advanced Biotech company in the world, Galaxon is proud to announce that Seyfertin will hit the market in two weeks, reaching out to many cancer patients that would need the low-cost but effective treatment drug.

After the successful synthesis of our product Seyfertin through the recombinant-DNA (rDNA) technology in Pichia pastoris, a series of laboratory tests are imposed to examine the safety as well as to assess the efficacy of the drug. The active ingredient of Seyfertin is a chemical compound known as Novataxel. Like Paclitaxel, this chemical compound was also originally isolated and extracted from the bark of related Taxus species. Not surprisingly, Novaltaxel works the similar way by disrupting microtubules function. This subsequently leads to defective mitotic spindle formation, abnormalities in chromosome segregation and eventually cell death due to its inability to divide mitotically. Given that all our cells undergo mitosis for growth and cell-renewal, there is a need to assess the efficacy and the safety concerns of this compund.  Ideally, this compound targets only the fast dividing cancerous cells with no harm directed to the healthy ones. Potential side effects such as allergic response, hair loss, nausea, diarrhea, pale skin, unusual weakness, seizure, fever, body aches and reduced heart rate will also be addressed

Novataxel was found to be more effective than paclitaxel

Galaxon researchers were able to show in vitro that novataxel is more effective than paclitaxel against most types of cancers.

New compound "Novataxel" was first synthesized by Galaxon researchers

For the first time, Galaxon researchers were able to synthesize novataxel, a novel anti-mitotic compound, using yeast by cloning a set of genes into the organism. 

Novataxel (baccatin III di-benzyl-β-phenylisoserine ester) is a synthetic derivative of paclitaxel, which was originallyisolatedfrom the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia. The only difference between their chemical structures is the presence of another benzoyl group on novataxel, replacing the hydroxyl group. This extra benzoyl group leads to higher hydrophobicity of novataxel than that of paclitaxel, which in turn allows for higher affinity and stability of binding of novataxel to β-tubulin in microtubules structure, thus leading to higher effectiveness of the drug in inhibiting tumor cells growth. 

The novel compound, novataxel, which is a derivative of paclitaxel, binds to microtubules and stabilizes their structure by shifting the dynamic equilibrium between soluble and insoluble tubulin. This enhances microtubule assembly, resulting in inhibition of cellular replication. While the cells remain viable, paclitaxel inhibits cell processes that are dependent on microtubule turnover, such as mitosis, migration, endocytosis and secretion 

Galaxon Researchers Discovered Novel Gene in Making New Cancer Drug

The new enzyme, which was first cloned and discovered from the English yew tree Taxus baccata by Galaxon researchers, is involved in the final step of conversion from paclitaxel to a related compound, which the researchers named as "novataxel". The enzyme was named as 3’-N-benzyl-2’-deoxytaxol-N-benzoyltransferase (BTNBT), and is functionally similar to 3’-N-debenzoyl-2’-deoxytaxol-N-benzoyltransferase (DBTNBT), which is involved in the addition of benzoyl group to the chemical compound. 

There are a total of 13 enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of novataxel from the glucose precursor, and this complex metabolic pathway can be divided into three distinct phases, with different intermediates and enzymes involved. Novataxel biosynthesis begins from glucose with Phase I leading to the production of isopentenyldiphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyldiphosphate (DMAPP), which are actually isoprene precursors originated from the plastidial methyl-erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway (Vongpaseuth, 2011) . These two precursors would then be directed to the second phase of the pathway, in which a taxadiene – an important precursor of novataxel – is generated. Finally, in Phase III, several acylation steps, along with side chain generation, conjugation and modification are involved in the biosynthesis of the final product – novataxel. 

SF Business Times Names Galaxon Top Employer

On April 22, 2011, the San Francisco Business Times named Galaxon number four on its list of the "Best Places to Work in the Bay Area." The ranking was decided largely on the basis of employee feedback via an online survey. Galaxon was in the "giant companies" category, defined as having more than 1,501 employees. This is the eighth year that Galaxon employees have participated in the survey, and the company has placed among the top five in the "giant companies" category each time.

Galaxon Makes FORTUNE's "Best Companies to Work For" List

On June 20, 2011, Genentech was included on FORTUNE's 100 "Best Companies to Work For" list for the 13th consecutive year.
FORTUNE's annual list, administered by the Great Place to Work Institute (GPTWI) evaluates and selects companies based on a range of criteria. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the results of the Institute's Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about management's credibility, job satisfaction and camaraderie. The other third of the scoring is based on the company's responses to the Institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about hiring practices, internal communications, training, recognition programs and diversity efforts, among others.