Golden Biotech to work with AU researchers on mushroom Alzheimer’s cure
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Taiwanese biotech Golden Biotechnology Corporation was collaborating with the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) at QUT to conduct pre-clinical testing of a chemical compound called Antroquinonol, which is showing promise as a way to prevent and combat Alzheimer’s.
Ms Palaszczuk, who this week attended the international BIO 2017 conference in San Diego, said Golden Biotechnology Corporation was one of the three recipients of last year’s Advance Queensland Johnson & Johnson Innovation QuickFire Challenge.
“The global health innovation competition drew nearly 100 applications from around the world. Out of that we got three recipients across three categories - medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare with each receiving $100,000,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“A condition of the challenge was that the recipients had to spend their award money in Queensland on research and commercialisation services.”
Golden Biotechnology Corporation won the Pharmaceuticals category and as required, will now spend their $100,000 in prize money in Queensland working with IHBI.
Antroquinonol is derived from Antrodia camphorata, a mushroom native to Taiwan which has long been used as a traditional remedy and preventative herbal supplement.
Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch – who also attended BIO 2017 – said research findings by the Institute of Brain Science at Taiwan’s National Yang-Ming University found that Antroquinonol improved learning and memory in mice with Alzheimer’s disease.
“The next stage in the development of a potential therapy is to do the all-important pre-clinical testing before moving to human trials,” Ms Enoch said.
Golden Biotechnology Corporation’s General Manager Dr Miles Chih-Ming Chen said if the results of the study were promising, Golden Biotechnology intended to move to human clinical trials.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. More than 413,000 Australians are living with dementia and this is expected to increase to over half a million by 2025. According to a University of Canberra report, the cost of dementia to the Australian economy in 2016 was over $14 billion.
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