Alfacell Corporation, which has completed a confirmatory Phase IIIb clinical trial for its unresectable malignant mesothelioma treatment ONCONASE, reported a net loss of about $2.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Reported by MarketWatch, the financial results are for the fiscal quarter ending Oct. 31.

The company reports a drop in cash and cash equivalents to $2 million, down from $4.7 million in July 2008. However, the company received $1.1 million from the sale of state tax loss carryforwards in New Jersey in December 2008, and says its cash reserves “are sufficient to support its activites into the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009,” according to the report.

Following the Phase IIIb clinical trial, it was determined ONCONASE results in a statistically significant improvement in survival for patients with unresectable malignant mesothelioma who have failed one prior chemotherapy regimen. This represents a currently unmet medical need, and Alfacell will meet with the Food and Drug Administration in January 2009 to discuss details of its planned New Drug Application submission.

According to information provided by Alfacell, “ONCONASE is a first-in-class therapeutic product candidate based on Alfacell’s proprietary ribonuclease (RNase) technology. A natural protein isolated from the leopard frog, ONCONASE has been shown in the laboratory and clinic to target cancer cells while sparing normal cells. ONCONASE triggers apoptosis, the natural death of cells, via multiple molecular mechanisms of action.”

Tags: Alfacell Corporation, mesothelioma, New Jersey, ONCONASE, research

This entry was posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under News, Research/Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.