Alfacell says current cash will last two years

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Oct. 31 - Alfacell Corp. projects that its current cash level will be adequate for approximately two years, Andrew Aromando, Alfacell's senior vice president of commercial development and operations, said Tuesday at the C.E. Unterberg, Towbin healthcare conference.

Alfacell had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $11.52 million at July 30, according to a company news release.

The company's anchor product, Oncanase, is currently being tested as a treatment for unresectable malignant mesothelioma (UMM) in a phase 3b trial. Results of the trial are expected in 2007, Aromando said.

"Commercially, [UMM] is a wide open market in that there's only one approved therapy," Aromando said.

He later added: "In market research, we've heard that clinicians are looking for another option to treat mesothelioma."

Alfacell plans to further grow its oncology franchise by seeking approvals for the drug for indications including non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer and gliomas, he said.

Phase 2 trials in non-small cell lung cancer, esophageal cancer and breast cancer are planned for 2007.

Alfacell views the United States as the primary market for Oncanase and plans to look for regional partners in Europe and the rest of the world, Aromando said.

The company is in ongoing discussions with potential partners in Europe and would consider a franchise partnership, an initial launch partner with mutual options for other indications, or a contract sales organization partner, he said.

A worldwide agreement is also a possibility, Aromando added.

Alfacell is a Bloomfield, N.J., biopharmaceutical company focused novel therapeutics for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.