Procure believes it is in a unique position to progress a number of valuable therapeutic opportunities which offer next-generation treatment of prostate cancer, by the targeting of cancer stem cells.

Pro-Cure has developed fundamental expertise and owns intellectual property relating to the isolation, handling and culture of cancer stem cells. Pro-Cure believes this puts the company in a very strong position in respect of competitive research groups, many of which have only recently embarked on the development of expertise in this area.

Pro-Cure also has under development in-vitro and in-vivo models which will enable rapid drug target validation using small molecule siRNA and other molecular approaches. Through its close cooperation with the YCR Cancer Research Unit, the Company is also developing 2D and 3D prostate cancer stem cell models, together with a human xenograft model based on the implantation of prostate cancer stem cells directly into the mouse prostate. This success has not yet been replicated in any other laboratories and offers the Company another major advance in in-vivo testing.

The ability to select and amplify prostate cancer stem cells from multiple individual human cases has for the first time allowed Pro-Cure to carry out gene profiling of the prostate cancer stem cells, an opportunity which other groups have not been able to progress due to a lack of access and to date difficulties in the handling these cells. As a result, potential drug targets identified by Pro-Cure offer opportunities which the Company is in a unique position to exploit, creating significant interest from potential partners including several Big Pharmas.