SAN DIEGO, CA, Feb 05 (MARKET WIRE) --
Althea Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of innovative technologies and
services for pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, announced today
that it has been awarded a contract from Quintessence Biosciences under a
manufacturing supply agreement to produce the firm's first drug candidate. The
drug candidate QBI-139 is effective in cancer models against a broad range of
solid
tumors. Quintessence plans to file an investigational new drug application
(IND) for QBI-139 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the
first quarter of 2008. Althea will provide protein production, purification,
and aseptic filling services to produce the clinical trial materials.
"Althea is an outstanding company with significant experience in the
contract
manufacture of protein therapeutics," said Ralph Kauten, Quintessence
Biosciences
CEO. "We are confident in their ability to produce the quality of drug we need
for our upcoming clinical trials."
"We are very pleased to begin work on Quintessence's leading drug
candidate,"
stated President and Co-CEO of Althea, Dr. Magda Marquet. "The Quintessence
QBI-139 therapeutic program is exciting as it represents a new and
potentially safer approach to combat a broad array of devastating cancer types."
About Althea Technologies, Inc.
Althea Technologies, a leading San Diego-based pharmaceutical services firm,
provides critical manufacturing and development services that support
researchers
worldwide in their advancement of novel therapies and efforts to apply new
genomic information. Althea's services include cGMP contract manufacturing of
recombinant proteins, DNA-based therapeutics and vaccines, aseptic filling, and
gene quantification using real-time PCR and gene expression analysis under GLP
conditions. Additionally, Althea has introduced new services and
technologies for the identification and development of genetic biomarkers
with innovative programs such as the company's proprietary Express
Pathway(SM). For more information, visit www.altheatech.com.
About the Evade(TM) Ribonucleases
The Evade(TM) Ribonuclease technology provides an opportunity to attack
theRNA in cancer cells, an exciting new cancer drug target, with analogs of the
human pancreatic ribonuclease 1. In preclinical disease models, the most
advanced lead candidate QBI-139 has shown an exceptional safety profile and
outstanding tumor growth inhibition in vivo against human pancreatic, non-small
cell lung, prostate, and ovarian solid tumors.
About Quintessence Biosciences, Inc.
Quintessence Biosciences, Inc. is a private biopharmaceutical company
focused on
development of proprietary cancer therapies based on the Evade(TM) Ribonuclease
technology. Quintessence's first product candidate, QBI-139, is anticipated to
enter a Phase 1 clinical trial in the first half of 2008. The company also has
a pipeline of other Evade(TM) Ribonuclease products in preclinical research.
For more information, visit www.quintbio.com.
Contact:
Althea Technologies, Inc.
Alan Moore
Executive Vice President and CBO
(858) 882-0205
Email Contact
Quintessence Biosciences, Inc.
Ralph Kauten
Chief Executive Officer
608-441-2950
Email Contact
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