Business
Quest PharmaTech Receives Support from National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) to develop Ultrasound Technology for the Treatment of Cancer
EDMONTON, April 22 /CNW/ - Quest PharmaTech Inc. ("Quest" or the "Company") is pleased to announc...
About this update from Quest Pharmatech Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nEDMONTON, April 22 /CNW/ - Quest PharmaTech Inc. ("Quest" or the\n"Company") is pleased to announce that it will receive generous support from\nNRC-IRAP towards the development of Quest's Sonodynamic Therapy (SDT) for\noncology applications.\n\n\nSonodynamic Therapy arises out of the Company's long-term interest in\nHypocrellin-based photodynamic therapy for oncology and skin diseases. The\nCompany's lead compound, SL017, with Intense Pulse Light is currently being\nevaluated for hair removal applications in a 90 patient Phase II clinical\ntrial. A second product, SL052, in combination with laser light activation is\nin late-stage pre-clinical development for prostate cancer treatment and is\nscheduled to enter a Phase I clinical trial during the second half of 2008.\nBoth products can also be activated by ultrasound.\n\n\nSDT involves the administration of non-toxic pharmaceutical agents which\nmay be activated deep within the body, by ultrasound, which is in itself\nnon-toxic. The attractive features of this technology for cancer treatment\nemerges from the ability to focus the ultrasound energy on malignancy sites\nburied deep in tissues and to locally activate a preloaded sonosensitizer. The\ngoal of SDT is to provide effective and specific eradication or control of\ntumors, while minimizing or eliminating toxicity and morbidity to the\nremainder of the patient.\n\n\nFinancial support of up to $198,362 from NRC/IRAP will help the Company\nto obtain proof-of-concept for the use of its proprietary Hypocrellin-based\ncompounds for Sonodynamic Therapy applications. Technology development will\nalso include new formulations involving nanoparticles and development of\nunique ultrasound transducers. In addition to the financial support, IRAP will\ncontinue to play an advisory role in acquiring complementary technologies to\ncommercialize SDT-based products. The overall program will be coordinated by\nDr. Gerald Miller, Executive Consultant to the Company and former Research\nProfessor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University\nof Alberta.\n\n\n"It is the strategy of the Company to add value to its oncology program\nby expanding the utility of Hypocrellin-based products for Immuno Photodynamic\nTherapy and Sonodynamic Therapy applications", said Dr. Madi R. Madiyalakan,\...