- Healthtech Solutions is acquiring Varian Biopharmaceuticals, developer of atypical protein kinase C iota inhibitors within thriving precision oncology market
- Varian Bio is developing two pre-clinical experimental drugs, VAR-101 for basal cell carcinoma and VAR-102 for a variety of solid tumors, including pancreatic, colorectal and NSCLC.
- Varian Bio will join MediScan, RevHeart in Healthtech’s portfolio of innovative healthcare technology companies
For more than three decades, scientists searched to find the connection between human cancers and the protein kinase C group with little success. Things changed around 2006 with the discovery of atypical protein kinase C iota (aPKC iota, or aPKCi), an oncogene believed to be instrumental in regulating tumors in several types of cancer. Research is ongoing today by companies like Varian Biopharmaceuticals to advance innovative aPKC iota inhibitors in the field of precision oncology. Varian Bio is now joining the family of companies at
Healthtech Solutions (OTC: HLTT), a New York-based company focused on acquiring and investing in strategic cutting-edge healthcare technological opportunities.
Varian Bio is coming under the Healthtech Solutions’ umbrella via the parent company acquiring a wholly-owned subsidiary, Healthtech Oncology Inc., which will own a 100% interest in Varian Bio. Varian Bio will join MediScan Inc., a developer of technology that converts 2D images from portable ultrasound machines into digital 3D images that are comparable to X-ray, MRI and CT scan images in a more convenient and less expensive manner; and RevHeart, a company advancing critical research into the treatment of COVID-related heart muscle injury, in the HLTT portfolio.
The MediScan technology was recently featured on the award-winning medtech publication BioWorld (
http://ibn.fm/HajIg). Topics included not only the functionality and science of the product for musculoskeletal (“MSK”), lung and cardiac imaging, but also the nugget that MediScan plans to apply for breakthrough device designation in the coming weeks.
Varian is in the pre-clinical stages of developing two aPKC iota inhibitors in user-preferred delivery methods to treat cancer. VAR-101 is being designed as a topical formulation for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, with about 3.6 million diagnoses each year in the U.S. (
https://ibn.fm/7RUOA). VAR-102 is an oral formulation being developed for treating an array of solid tumors where there is existing evidence aPKCi inhibition would be beneficial, such as pancreatic, colorectal and non-small cell lung cancers (“NSCLC”). These indications represent areas of unmet need, as the fourth, third and second leading cause of cancer deaths, respectively, in the U.S. annually.
As it moves forward with these experimental drugs, Varian Bio management remains vigilant to finding opportunities to add more precision oncology therapeutic candidates to its pipeline. This model dovetails perfectly with that of the parent company. “HLTT’s investment in Varian is consistent with HLTT’s vision of acquiring and investing in strategic cutting-edge healthcare technological opportunities. It is also exciting for HLTT to be bringing Varian’s management board and scientific board to the HLTT structure,” the company said in an announcement of the acquisition (
https://ibn.fm/wGFcD).
Precision oncology is large market that is gaining momentum because of its utility of DNA testing to better inform treatment recommendations for highly targeted therapies that home in on specific tumors with less collateral damage to surrounding tissue. Varian, and now Healthtech Solutions through its new ownership, is seeking to become a leader in the market forecast to experience robust growth in the coming years. According to analysts at Reports and Data, the global precision oncology market will essentially double from $49.9 billion in 2019 to $99.7 billion in 2027.
For more information, visit the company’s website at
www.MyMediScan.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to HLTT are available in the company’s newsroom at
https://ibn.fm/HLTT
