UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
______________________________________________
Form 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of June, 2008
Commission File Number ________________
Novogen Limited
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
140 Wicks Road, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
(Address of principal executive office)
___________________________________
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F x Form 40-F o
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(l): o
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b)( I) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule lO1(b)(7): o
Note: Regulation S-T Rule l01(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant’s “home country”), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant’s securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant’s security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule l2g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes o No x
If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Novogen Limited
(Registrant)
/s/ Ron Erratt
Ronald Lea Erratt
Company Secretary
Date 26 June, 2008
ASX & MEDIA RELEASE
26 JUNE, 2008
MARSHALL EDWARDS, INC. JOINS RUSSELL 3000® INDEX
Novogen Limited’s subsidiary, Marshall Edwards Inc., (NASDAQ: MSHL), has made the following announcement:
NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT - 26 June, 2008 —Marshall Edwards, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSHL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new class of oncology drugs known as “multi-signal transduction regulators,” today announced that it is soon to be included in the Russell 3000® Index, according to a preliminary list of additions recently posted on www.russell.com. Marshall Edwards, Inc.’s addition to the broad market Russell 3000 Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the Russell 2000® Index. The 2008 reconstitution of the Russell indexes will take place after the market closes on June 27, 2008.
“With our lead drug candidate phenoxodiol in a pivotal phase III trial for recurrent ovarian cancer, the Russell 3000 Index has recognised our potential,” said Christopher Naughton, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Marshall Edwards, Inc.’s inclusion in the Russell 3000 Index offers us visibility to more investors.”
The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the largest 3,000 US companies based on total market capitalisation, representing approximately 98% of the investable US equity market according to Russell Investments. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index representing approximately 10% of the total Market capitalisation of that index and includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market capitalisation and current index membership in the Russell 3000 Index.
About phenoxodiol:
Phenoxodiol is being developed as a chemosensitising agent in combination with platinum drugs for late stage, chemoresistant ovarian cancer and as a monotherapy for prostate and cervical cancers. It has a unique mechanism of action, binding to cancer cells via a cell membrane oxidase, causing major downstream disturbances in expression of proteins necessary for cancer cell survival and responsible for the development of drug resistance.
In cancer cells, phenoxodiol appears to selectively inhibit the regulator known as S-1-P (sphingosine-1-phosphate) that is over-expressed in cancer cells. In response to phenoxodiol, the S-1-P content in cancer cells is decreased, with a consequent decrease in expression of the pro-survival proteins XIAP and FLIP, rendering those cells more sensitive to chemotherapy. Indeed, in laboratory studies, it has been demonstrated that drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells pre-treated with phenoxodiol were killed with lower doses of chemotherapy drugs.
Importantly, phenoxodiol has been shown not to adversely affect normal cells in animal and laboratory testing.
Phenoxodiol is being investigated as a therapy for late-stage, chemoresistant ovarian, prostate and cervical cancers. Phenoxodiol has received Fast Track status from the FDA to facilitate its development as a therapy for recurrent ovarian and prostate cancers.
Phenoxodiol is an investigational drug and, as such, is not commercially available. Under US law, a new drug cannot be marketed until it has been investigated in clinical trials and approved by FDA as being safe and effective for the intended use.
Phenoxodiol is the first of a family of compounds in the Marshall Edwards, Inc. drug pipeline of flavonoid derivatives.
About Marshall Edwards, Inc:
Marshall Edwards, Inc. is a specialist oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. These derive from a flavonoid technology platform, which has generated a number of novel compounds characterised by broad ranging activity against a range of cancer cell types with few side effects. The combination of anti-tumour cell activity and low toxicity is believed to be a result of the ability of these compounds to target an enzyme present in the cell membrane of cancer cells, thereby inhibiting the production of pro-survival proteins within the cell. Marshall Edwards, Inc. has licensed rights from Novogen Limited (ASX:NRT Nasdaq: NVGN) to bring three oncology drugs -- phenoxodiol, triphendiol and NV-143 -- to market globally. The Company's lead investigational drug, phenoxodiol, is in a Phase III multinational multi-centred clinical trial for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. More information on the trial can be found at http://www.OVATUREtrial.com.
Marshall Edwards, Inc. is majority owned by Novogen Limited (ASX:NRT NASDAQ: NVGN), an Australian biotechnology company that is specialising in the development of therapeutics based on a flavonoid technology platform. Novogen is developing a range of therapeutics across the fields of oncology, cardiovascular disease and inflammatory diseases. More information on phenoxodiol and on the Novogen group of companies can be found at www.marshalledwardsinc.com and www.novogen.com.
Under US. law, a new drug cannot be marketed until it has been investigated in clinical trials and approved by the FDA as being safe and effective for the intended use. Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates; costs and delays in the development and/or FDA approval, or the failure to obtain such approval, of our product candidates; uncertainties in clinical trial results; our inability to maintain or enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon, collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and distribution of any products; competitive factors; our inability to protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate our business; our inability to operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market acceptance; our inability to obtain any additional required financing; technological changes; government regulation; changes in industry practice; and one-time events. We do not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.