Jersey City, New Jersey—July 8, 2008—Quantum Genomics Corp. (QGC), a global biotech company developing new drugs for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, today announced a strategic agreement for the manufacture of the first batch of its QCC001 drug candidate for hypertension. The agreement is with PCAS Pharma Synthesis, a world-class supplier of key intermediates and bulk actives to the pharmaceutical industry.
Under the terms of the agreement, PCAS will prepare the first batch of QGC’s lead molecule QCC001. This compound exploits a new biological mechanism with a huge potential to facilitate control of blood pressure in patients suffering from hypertension.
QGC says that PCAS will use its solid expertise in producing cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) batches of drug substances. This is a highly critical procedure for the administration of any drug product in humans. The company will also be required to conduct stability studies in compliance with standard conditions defined by the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH). QGC is expecting an initial cGMP batch of several kilograms of QGC001 from PCAS.
“PCAS has excellent technical skills and a solid reputation for providing quality services in manufacturing pharmaceutical active ingredients,” said Lionel Ségard, Chairman and CEO of QGC. “One of QGC's strengths [in development of innovative drugs that address significant unmet medical needs] is our ability to select the relevant contracting partner to manage a study and to obtain the product on time and on budget.”
Cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of death in humans. Hypertension in particular is one of the major determining factors in premature death. The risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, kidney failure, heart failure or other complications doubles with every 20/10mmHg rise in blood pressure. At least 30% of people have hypertension. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from hypertension complications despite medical advice on food and health habits and the existence of several treatments. The market for hypertensive drugs is expected to double between 2005 and 2010.
Upon conclusion of the manufacturing phase, QGC will go through regulatory preclinical development, followed by Investigational Medicinal Product (IMPD) and Investigational New Drug (IND) Applications processes. QGC expects to start the first clinical trial of its hypertension resistant drug in humans by early 2009.
About Quantum Genomics Corp.
QGC is a biotechnology company seeking to develop new therapies in areas where an unmet medical need exists. QGC focus is on metabolism-related diseases and cardiovascular pathologies. It will co-develop some products with academic teams and will set up strategic alliances and commercial partnerships to cover all areas of research in life sciences.
The company is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. It has a European office in France under the leadership of Lionel Ségard.
For more information go to www.Quantum-Genomics.com
About PCAS
PCAS is a Group listed on the Euronext compartiment C, specialising in Fine and Speciality Chemicals.
It develops and manufactures molecules of high added-value or of strong technological content for Pharmaceuticals, Perfumery, Cosmetics and Industry. The PCAS Group employs 1050 employees, has 8 production sites (4 of which are cGMP, FDA inspected), invests around 7% of its net sales each year in R&D and achieves 65% of its net sales in export.
