Even for those who survive, cancer can take a terrible toll on the human body.

Altachem Pharma Ltd. is working on the next generation of cancer treatment that will be much more “patient friendly,” says Altachem president and CEO Warren Jackson.

Headquartered in Edmonton with wholly-owned subsidiaries in Beijing and Shanghai, Altachem Pharma Ltd. is a publicly traded (AAF: TSX Venture Exchange) pharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new pharmaceutical products that will enrich and prolong the lives of people worldwide.

Altachem has the worldwide rights to five technologies that are in development that will in the future join the arsenal in the fight against HIV/AIDS, cancers and skin diseases. It is also developing potentially revolutionary products that will eliminate the inherent risk in the blood supply faced by billions of people around the world.

Warren Jackson, president of Altachem Pharma, in one of the company’s Edmonton labs.

Altachem is divided into three divisions: drug development, blood safety, and manufacturing.

DRUG DEVELOPMENT
There are five exciting products under development at Altachem that have the potential to dramatically improve the lives of cancer and AIDS patients worldwide.

* ACP-HIP, which is now in Phase 1 clinical trials, is a protein that has been found to inhibit the proliferation of AIDS-causing HIV cells, and inhibit the spread of Kaposi’s Sarcoma, an AIDS-related cancer.

* SonoLight Technology, developed at the University of Alberta, will be used to battle breast, prostate and gastro- intestinal cancer in much less invasive ways than traditional methods. The injected drug attaches itself to the cancer cell, which is then activated either by light or sound, bypassing the need for surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. If it is not activated, the drug will exit the body within 24 hours, without side effects. It is now in the product development stage. A topical form of SonoLight, which will be used to treat acne, psoriasis, and actinic-kertoses is now in the late pre-clinical studies stage.

* It is currently believed that one of the origins of cancer is due to a lapse of the body’s immune system to detect cancer cells as invaders of the host.

Altachem believes CDK, an immunomodulator, will not only reduce tumor growth, but also limit the spread of the cancer to other organs. The product is in the early stages of pre-clinical work.

* Anticort, for which Altachem has the licence for Canada, can relieve symptoms associated with AIDS and boost the immune function in AIDS patients. The expected cost of the drug will be one-fifth that of currently available drugs, which would be a boon to the treatment of AIDS in under-developed countries where AIDS has reached epidemic proportions.

BLOOD SAFETY DIVISION
It is estimated that 80 per cent of the world’s population does not have access to safe blood supplies. Altachem is doing something about that.

Beijing Altachem Pharma Biotechnology Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Altachem, is developing a technology called Bionex, a revolutionary product with the potential to inactivate the HIV virus, hepatitis B and C, herpes and other pathogens in blood compounds. This product may be the first to entirely eliminate the risk inherent in blood transfusions, which is essential for a zero-risk blood supply.

Bionex is also under development as a potent disinfectant for hospital use. Recent testing has shown Bionex to be effective against the Corona virus – the causative pathogen for the SARS outbreak – and the polio virus.

MANUFACTURING DIVISION

Research and development is expensive, and the goal of the manufacturing division is provide a stable revenue source to support the work of the drug and blood safety divisions.

In Edmonton, Altachem has a west-end facility that manufactures Accu-MAb, a whooping cough test kit.

AccuMAb is the only diagnostic kit on the market that can differentiate between pertussis (whooping cough) and parapertussis (a harmless bacteria), drastically reducing the number of false negatives.

The facility also manufactures a series of breath test kits, as per an exclusive agreement with Isodiagnostika Inc.

Altachem also owns the Shanghai Hua Gao Pharmaceutical Pellet Core Co. (SHGP). Located in a high-tech zone of Shanghai, the company produces pellet core, the spherical particles used in the manufacture of slow and controlled-release dosage forms. SHGP has recently added another production line to manufacture Bionex disinfectant with manufacturing capabilities of approximately 10 million litres per year.

More information on Altachem can be obtained on their website, www.altachempharma.com