Dr. Madi Madiyalakan reports

QUEST PHARMATECH ANNOUNCES FUNDING SUPPORT FROM NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL'S INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR IGE ANTIBODY CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY DEVELOPMENT (ALLERGOONCOLOGY)

Quest Pharmatech Inc. will receive financial support from the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program toward a cell culture development project for Quest's IgE technology.

Quest's second generation of immunoglobulin E products is a class of antibody that can effectively trigger cross-presentation by antigen presenting cells of selected tumour antigens leading to robust cellular immune responses. Additionally, multiple pathways are activated resulting in enhanced penetration by effector cells and anti-neoplastic agents adjacent to the cancer site (cancer stroma). The technology offers the promise of a new therapeutic approach to improve outcomes in the treatment of solid tissue malignancies in conjunction with current therapy with the potential to extend the new successes being achieved in the cancer immunotherapy field. Pioneering work done in this area by Quest's clinical and scientific adviser, Dr. Christopher Nicodemus, at Advance Immune Therapeutics and AIT Strategies, has helped Quest secure a U.S. patent on IgE titled "Methods for improving the bioactivity of therapeutic IgE antibodies for the treatment of disease," with three more patents pending including one licensed from Stanford University.

The first product candidate selected from this platform technology is an IgE against the HER2/neu antigen for the treatment of advanced malignant breast cancer. This IgE was developed by Professor Manuel Penichet and licensed by Quest from the University of California at Los Angeles. Preclinical studies for the IgE antibodies including the anti-HER2/neu IgE candidate are being conducted by Prof. Penichet at UCLA and by Professor Michael Hollingsworth at the University of Nebraska. Secondary products target additional cancer antigens. The financial support of up to $206,000 from NRC/IRAP will be used for cell culture development for cGMP manufacturing of the monoclonal IgE for clinical use.

"We are the first company in the world that is engaged in moving this cutting-edge IgE immunotherapy technology to the clinical stage," said Dr. Madi R. Madiyalakan, chief executive officer of Quest. "The current funding from NRC/IRAP will help us accomplish that objective in an efficient manner," added Dr. Madiyalakan.