TSX Venture: QPT
EDMONTON, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Quest PharmaTech Inc.
(TSX-V: QPT) ("Quest" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company
developing and commercializing products for the treatment of
cancer, announces that it has recently signed a technology purchase
agreement with Advanced Immune Therapeutics, Inc., a private U.S.
company ("AIT"), to acquire all of the assets related to their
AllergoOncology technology, a new technology based on tumor
associated Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody for the treatment of
cancer.
AIT was founded by Peter
Gonze, Christopher Nicodemus,
MD, FACP, and Birgit Schultes, PhD.
The technology was developed in collaboration with Professor
Manuel Penichet at the University of California in Los Angeles using
private capital and support from the National Institute of
Health. The AllergoOncology technology is both novel and very
attractive since there is increasing evidence of an inverse
correlation between levels of IgE and the incidences of several
cancers, which strongly suggests a potential role of IgE in
modulating cancer biology and cancer immunotherapy.
"We believe that this newly acquired technology
complements our Company's focus on immunotherapy of cancer, based
on the unique properties and mechanism of action of this novel
class of molecules", said Madi R. Madiyalakan, PhD., Chief
Executive Officer for Quest. "We intend to expeditiously evaluate
the potential of the acquired technology".
"The AllergoOncology platform developed at AIT
along with our collaborators, seeks to further
chemo-immunotherapeutic approaches by targeting the tumor while
mobilizing a robust anti-tumor immunity. Proof of principle
has been established with several lead product candidates that are
currently in advanced preclinical development," commented Dr.
Christopher Nicodemus, Chairman and
Chief Scientific Officer of Advanced Immune Therapeutics. "AIT is
excited to see the continued development of this promising,
proprietary technology platform. Quest is well positioned to
advance this technology and bring it to the clinic, along with its
other products which are in ongoing clinical trials."
The acquired technology platform includes two
pending U.S. patent applications and potential product candidates
for breast and prostate cancer treatment. Under the purchase
agreement, AIT will receive 500,000 common shares of Quest. The
agreement also provides single-digit royalty payments on future
revenues. The shares, when issued, will be subject to a 4
month hold period.
This technology purchase is subject to TSX
Venture Exchange approval.
About Quest PharmaTech Inc.
Quest is a publicly traded, Alberta-based biotechnology company committed
to the development and commercialization of oncology product
candidates for the treatment of cancer by combining
immunotherapeutic antibodies with chemotherapy, photodynamic
therapy or immunoadjuvants.
Quest's technology platform includes a series of
monoclonal antibodies that target several cancer markers such as
CA125, MUC1, PSA, CA19.9 and TAG72; and proprietary
photosensitizers. Quest has body of clinical experience and a new
appreciation of the obstacles and potential of combinatorial
immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer. Quest believes that
combinatorial immunotherapy, which exploits the immune modulating
effects of selected cytotoxic agents normally used in standard
chemotherapy regimens along with specific immune stimulants will
lead to important commercial applications of this immunology
platform in the treatment of cancer.
The most advanced of these product candidates is
oregovomab, an anti-CA125 antibody in combination with front-line
chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer which is
currently undergoing a phase II clinical trial in 12 centers in
Italy and the U.S. The Company's
MUC1 antibody program that has already undergone a phase I clinical
trial has the potential to permit tumour specific immunization to a
broad range of additional cancers, including colon, non small cell
lung, breast and pancreas. Quest is also conducting a phase I
clinical trial for the treatment of prostate cancer, with its
photosensitizer, SL052.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Quest PharmaTech Inc.