Quest PharmaTech Inc. (TSX-V: QPT) ("Quest" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products for the treatment of cancer, announced today that it conducted its first clinical Investigators Meeting for Oregovomab in Rome, Italy.
Oregovomab is an immunotherapeutic agent designed to trigger a specific immune response against CA125 expressing cancer, most notably ovarian. A seven center clinical trial is underway in Italy to evaluate whether optimally dosed Oregovomab in conjunction with front-line chemotherapy will generate the same or improved immune and clinical response, as seen in a previous Phase II clinical trial in the same patient population. This clinical trial is the first of three trials that the Company has planned to confirm Oregovomab in combination with front-line chemotherapy to elicit better immune and clinical responses in cancer patients. Successful completion of these trials will set the stage for a pivotal registration trial as well as proof-of-concept for a platform technology of chemo-enhanced immunotherapy.
The objective of the Investigator Meeting was to finalize the operational issues related to conducting a multi center clinical trial. The meeting was attended by investigators from all seven participating centers. Professor Roberto Angioli from Policinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico Di Roma is the Principal Investigator for the study. The Company has received regulatory approval from the Italian regulatory agency (Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, AIFA) as well as from a local ethics committee. The study will be monitored by a commercial clinical research organization (CRO), Dimensione Ricerca S.r.1., located in Rome, Italy.
Quest also provides the following Corporate Updates:
Audited Financial Results for the Fiscal year ended on January 31, 2011:
Net consolidated loss for the year was $1,354,773 or $0.02 per share as compared to a consolidated loss of $517,799 or $0.01 per share for the year ended January 31, 2010. Total expenditures for fiscal 2011 were $1,389,186 including research and development expenditures of $687,156 and general and administrative expenses of $500,626. During the fiscal year, Quest was able to secure debt financing from insiders of the Company, of which $930,000 has been drawn to date. Additional information related to the Company's financial statements and management discussion analysis is on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
The Company also announces the granting of 1,950,000 stock options to three Officers and one Independent Director of the Company, all at an exercise price of $0.10 per common share subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
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