EDMONTON, Jan. 30 /CNW/ - Quest PharmaTech Inc. (TSX.V: QPT, the "Company") announces the appointment of Dr. Madi R. Madiyalakan as Executive Chairman effective immediately. This change was necessitated by the resignation of Dr. David Cox, President & CEO effective March 24th, 2006. Dr. Cox intends to pursue other activities. Dr. Cox will continue to serve as a member of the board and the Company will have access to his services as a consultant on an as-needed basis. The Board of Directors would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution made by Dr. Cox during his tenure with the Company. Additionally, the combination of the CEO and Chairman roles will save the Company significant money over the short term. Dr. Donald B. Rix, an independent director, will act as the lead director. "I will continue to build the Company based on the foundation laid out in the past twelve months," said Dr. Madiyalakan. "Although, the Company has made tremendous progress in advancing the technology, it has not yet been able to instill broad investor confidence as evidenced by the share price. The Company's technology has matured enough to attract strategic partners. If the Company can progress in these areas, I am confident that we will be able to build shareholder value in the near future," added Dr. Madiyalakan. Dr. Madiyalakan has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the last year. He was one of the founders of the SonoLight Pharmaceuticals Corp. (served as its CEO and Director), CanBiocin Inc. (served as President, CEO and Director) and AltaRex Corp. (served as Vice President, Planning and Chief Scientific Officer). Between 1987 and 1995, Dr. Madiyalakan served in various senior positions at Biomira Inc. and was previously Executive Vice-President, Research and Development of the Corporation. Dr. Madiyalakan holds a Ph.D in Biochemistry and a Certificate in Management Development. For the last twenty five years he has been an educator, inventor and entrepreneur and has published extensively. Dr. Donald B. Rix has been a member of the Quest board since September, 2005. He is the Owner, Founder and Chairman of MDS Metro Laboratory Services and Cantest Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C. Dr. Rix recently received the Lifetime Leadership and Achievement Award from the B.C. Biotechnology alliance for his contributions to the biotechnology sector. He is also a board member of MDFS Ventures Pacific Inc., Futurefund Capital Corp., Bio Futurefund Capital Corp and Genome BC. Dr. Rix is an M.D. and holds a Doctor of Science degree and a Fellowship in General Pathology (FRCP) Canada. In addition to the announced management changes, the Company has also reduced its leasehold expenses by approximately 50% by subleasing part of its laboratory spaces to a third party. The Company continues to employ six laboratory and three administrative personnel while relying extensively on external contracts to conduct the two Phase I clinical trials involving its lead compound SL-017. About Quest PharmaTech Inc. --------------------------- The Corporation is a publicly traded (TSX Venture Exchange: QPT), Alberta-based pharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new pharmaceutical products. It is developing a series of products for the treatment of cancer and dermatological conditions based on its unique photodynamic and sonodynamic therapy platforms. The Company also has a profitable product in Accu-MAb(TM), a monoclonal-based diagnostic kit for whooping cough. For further information, we invite you to visit us at www.questpharmatech.com The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein. %SEDAR: 00008400E