ALTACHEM ANNOUNCES PRESENTATION ON THE
EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT OF CANCER WITH
ULTRASOUND ACTIVATED HYPOCRELLINS
News Release
March 28, 2002
For Immediate Release
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - Mr. Warren Jackson, President and CEO of Altachem Pharma Ltd. is pleased to announce that the Corporation's Senior Scientific Advisor and research collaborator Dr. Jerry Miller, from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Pharmacy will be giving an oral presentation on the successful treatment of cancer in animal models using the Corporation's proprietary hypocrellin based drug ("HB") at the 3rd International Symposium on Sonodynamic Therapy in Fukuoka, Japan on March 28, 2002.
The Corporation's wholly owned subsidiary SonoLight Pharmaceuticals Corp. is the only known Canadian company to undertake the technique of sonodynamic therapy ("SDT") as a treatment for cancer. Dr. Jerry Miller and his colleague at the University of Alberta Dr. J. William Lown are one of only a handful of groups around the world undertaking the development of SDT. Dr. Miller and Dr. Lown have successfully used SDT to delay tumor growth in mice and on human leukemia cells growing in culture. Dr. Miller feels this bodes well for SDT's use in humans because the compounds are clearly not toxic unless activated by ultrasound and are cleared rapidly from the normal tissue. SonoLight Pharmaceuticals Corp., has licensed this technology from University of Alberta.
Drs. Miller and Lown originally discovered HB for use with light to treat cancer. Their current observation demonstrates that HB could also be therapeutically activated by ultrasound. Ultrasound activation allows for the effective treatment of deep cancer tumors as opposed to the superficial lesions that have been typically treated by light activation. The major advantage of photodynamic or sonodynamic therapy compared with traditional chemotherapy is greatly reduced side effects, since the toxicity of hypocrellins is restricted to the light or ultrasound-treated tumor, whereas conventional chemotherapy can be toxic to the entire body. The Corporation has filed four international patent applications to protect this technology and compounds.
"The current observation by Dr. Miller gives us confidence in our integrated approach to the treatment of cancer that uses proprietary hypocrellin based drugs activated by either light or sound, which could also be used alone or in combination with other immunotherapeutic products, depending upon the specific application or indication of disease" said Dr. Madi. R. Madiyalakan, Executive Vice President of Research & Development.
To find out more information on the conference please log onto homepage.mac.com. Please visit the Corporation's website at www.altachempharma.com for more information on the HB technology. Dr. Miller's and Dr. Lown's current discovery will also be featured on the University of Alberta's website at www.ualberta.ca once the site is updated on the afternoon of March 29, 2002.
Altachem Pharma Ltd. is a publicly traded (CDNX:AAF), Alberta-based pharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new pharmaceutical products to enrich and prolong the lives of people. The Corporation is developing a multi-tiered, integrated approach for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and Cancer. The lead products of the Corporation are based on its two proprietary drugs: HIP and HB. The Corporation's manufacturing facility is certified compliant with internationally recognized quality systems standards, ISO 9002:1994, ISO 13488:1996 and EN 46002:1997.
For additional information, contact:
Roger Andrews, Investor Relations
Altachem Pharma Ltd.
Tel.: (780) 486-8331 Ext. 331
Toll-free: (877) 502-5939
Fax : (780) 448-1436
E-mail: roger@altachempharma.com
Web site: www.altachempharma.com |
