In the race for a novel anti-cancer therapy drug between two firms, one company is clearly ahead.  Alfacell Corp., an east-coast biotech company, is in its second Phase III trial for a drug that uses an enzyme to interact with RNA to treat cancer.  Quintessence Bioscience, of the midwest, is developing a very similar drug, but has yet to even begin trials.  Quintessence is not concerned by their speedy competition, however.  On the business side of things, they believe attention garnered by Alfacell will help raise confidence in the Quintessence approach, encouraging investors to buy stock.  On the scientific side, Quintessence believes their product will be safer and more effective.

The two companies have comparable intentions, but different executions.  Alfacell is using an enzyme from frog eggs called Onconase, whereas Quintessence is using an engineered enzyme known as QBI-139.  When administered to mesothelioma patients, Onconase showed no effect on those with advanced disease, but it did increase the lifespan of patients in early stages of mesothelioma.  Because it comes from frog eggs, however, Onconase can spark allergic reactions and needs to be administered in closely-monitored doses.  Nevertheless, Alfacell is confident their drug will receive approval, and the company has already entered marketing contracts overseas.

Quintessence, hardly wary of their competitor's progress, believes more strongly in their own product.  QBI-139 is over 100 times more active that Onconase, is significantly less toxic, and because it is synthetic, can be administered with more dosage flexibility.  Furthermore, the enzyme stays in the bloodstream longer than Onconase, enabling it to fight metastasized cancers. Quintessence believes the product will enter Phase I trials on mesothelioma patients this summer.  Read the full article here.