Business
Quest PharmaTech Announces Positive Results from Phase I Clinical Trial of its Photodynamic Therapy for Actinic Keratosis
TSX Venture: QPT EDMONTON, June 2 /CNW/ - Quest PharmaTech Inc. (TSX-V: QPT), ("Quest" or the "Co...
About this update from Quest Pharmatech Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nTSX Venture: QPT\n\n\nEDMONTON, June 2 /CNW/ - Quest PharmaTech Inc. (TSX-V: QPT), ("Quest" or\nthe "Company"), today announced that its 12-patient, Phase I clinical study\nentitled "ACP-SL017 Topical Gel: A Phase I Study for the Photodynamic Therapy\nof Actinic Keratosis" has met both its primary and exploratory objectives.\n\n\n"We are delighted to have received, for the first time, clinical\nvalidation for our SonoLight Technology in a dermatological application," said\nMadi R. Madiyalakan, CEO of Quest. "Actinic Keratosis is a pre-cancerous skin\ncondition usually caused by prolonged accumulated sun exposure which can\nprogress to squamous cell carcinoma, a potentially life-threatening form of\nskin cancer, unless treated by a dermatologist or other physician. This trial\nsuccessfully demonstrated that cutaneous photodynamic therapy (PDT) with SL017\nappears safe and is well tolerated. In addition, our unique approach is\ndesigned to overcome some of the limitations associated with other\ncommercially available PDT treatments for Actinic Keratosis."\n\n\nActinic Keratosis has a global incidence of approximately 10 to 15% in\nthe Caucasian population and the American Medical Association estimates the\nU.S. market for the treatment of Actinic Keratosis to be about US\n$250 million.\n\n\nThe primary objective of the Phase I study, which was conducted in\nCanada, was to determine the cutaneous and systemic toxicity of the\ntopically-applied photoactive drug, SL017, with and without photoactivation.\nThe exploratory objective was to evaluate the efficacy of SL017 with and\nwithout photoactivation in the treatment of Actinic Keratosis. The study\nparameters employed included physician clinical assessment, patient\nsymptomatic assessment, skin photography, blood chemistry, urinalysis,\nelectrocardiogram and skin biopsy. The study was conducted at clinical sites\nin Edmonton and Montreal.\n\n\nThe study met all the objectives addressing the clinical safety\nendpoints. There were no observed clinically relevant adverse events\nassociated with the treatment at all the concentrations (0 to 40 mg of SL017)\nand light doses (10 to 20 joules/cm(2)) administered. The light treatment,\nconveniently administered in a dermatology clinic, was well tolerated. The\ntherapeutic potential o...