Fungal infections are untreated menaces till date owing to the increasing microbial resistance developed toward existing pharmaceutical treatments and can be associated with severe long-time discomfort. Fungal infection sufferers have to deal with cracked, raw skin, unhealthy yellow nails, bad odor, and aching fingers and toes for endless tenure. Infections left untreated can also lead to inflammation, skin ulcers and other similar complications in diabetes patients. This necessitates creation of an effective as well as permanent treatment that can be applied to skin rejuvenation and repair of skin damage. Amongst the several companies focusing specifically on antifungal medications, Biovite Australia Pty. Ltd. has designed a natural bioactive ingredient called AMYCOT, which attacks and destroys fungi and some bacteria with no toxicity reported to humans.

Biovite Australia Pty. Ltd., a Queensland biotechnology firm founded in 2001 is actively engaged in the discovery, research and development, as well as commercialization of bioactives. The company has invented a bioactive compound called AMYCOT, which exhibits the following unique properties--fungicide, partly bactericide, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and skin repair. The AMYCOT bioactive compound is available as an ingredient in two forms--pre-mix powder and liquid concentrate, besides a wide range of products formulated for multiple applications. AMYCOT is a plant-based bioactive primarily obtained from the microorganism Cyanobacterium utilized as the biosource. This biosource is cultivated in Australia at aquaculture farms and processed at Biovite in-house.

The company has tested the efficacy of action of the bioactive AMYCOT against target organisms in ideal laboratory conditions and provided confirmatory results by an independent testing laboratory and in human trials. These laboratory tests conducted include testing for cytotoxicity, sensitivity, anti-inflammatory, and skin repair/anti-aging. AMYCOT's independent trials have also been undertaken by Podiatrists in Germany and USA. Results obtained from the independent tests have confirmed that the present so-called antifungals/topicals are fungistatic, that is, they are inhibitors only, whereas AMYCOT is a fungicide that kills the fungi ensuring that it does not reappear as soon as the treatment stops. This fact makes bioactive AMYCOT the only available product, which completely kills fungi and some bacteria, curing fungal and certain bacterial diseases of the skin in humans, animals, and also fungal conditions in plants. Naturally extracted antibiotic AMYCOT appears to be the first readily efficacious treatment, promising relief for fungal infections that includes jock itch, athlete’s foot, fungal nail, ring worm, and other tinea conditions.

The diversified topical applications of AMYCOT include the following: fungal infections in humans, other dermaceutical conditions in humans, skin repair wherein specifically anti-aging, animal health, agriculture, and general fungicides. The firm has released three commercial products containing the bioactive ingredient AMYCOT under the CALMAGEN brand name SkinKalm, FootKalm, and Nail Kalm, all three of which are sold in Australia through pharmacies, podiatrists, health food stores, and nail clinics. This Calmagen range of dermaceutical products is expected to be launched in South Africa in the third quarter of 2008. The company has sought the help of Commonwealth and State Government funding specifically for the biotechnology industry in order to develop the AMYCOT product. Biovite Australia has also applied to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for inclusion of its ingredient AMYCOT in powder form listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods as an ingredient for use in topical complementary medicines.

Details:

Peter Johnston

Managing Director

Biovite Australia Pty Ltd.

PO Box 364, West Burleigh

Queensland 4219

Australia

Phone: 0061-75520-7544

Fax: 0061-75520-7255

E-mail: peter@biovite.com.au

URL: www.biovite.com.au

To comment on this article, write to us at tiresearch@frost.com

To find out more about Technical Insights and our Alerts, subscriptions and research services, access http://ti.frost.com