TSX Venture: QPT

EDMONTON, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Quest PharmaTech Inc. (TSX-V: QPT)
(“Quest” or the “Company”), a pharmaceutical company developing and
commercializing products for the treatment of cancer, announces that it
has recently signed a technology purchase agreement with Advanced
Immune Therapeutics, Inc., a private U.S. company (“AIT”), to acquire
all of the assets related to their AllergoOncology technology, a new
technology based on tumor associated Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody
for the treatment of cancer.

AIT was founded by Peter Gonze, Christopher Nicodemus, MD, FACP, and
Birgit Schultes, PhD. The technology was developed in collaboration
with Professor Manuel Penichet at the University of California in Los
Angeles using private capital and support from the National Institute
of Health. The AllergoOncology technology is both novel and very
attractive since there is increasing evidence of an inverse correlation
between levels of IgE and the incidences of several cancers, which
strongly suggests a potential role of IgE in modulating cancer biology
and cancer immunotherapy.

“We believe that this newly acquired technology complements our
Company’s focus on immunotherapy of cancer, based on the unique
properties and mechanism of action of this novel class of molecules”,
said Madi R. Madiyalakan, PhD., Chief Executive Officer for Quest. “We
intend to expeditiously evaluate the potential of the acquired
technology”.

“The AllergoOncology platform developed at AIT along with our
collaborators, seeks to further chemo-immunotherapeutic approaches by
targeting the tumor while mobilizing a robust anti-tumor immunity.
Proof of principle has been established with several lead product
candidates that are currently in advanced preclinical development,”
commented Dr. Christopher Nicodemus, Chairman and Chief Scientific
Officer of Advanced Immune Therapeutics. “AIT is excited to see the
continued development of this promising, proprietary technology
platform. Quest is well positioned to advance this technology and bring
it to the clinic, along with its other products which are in ongoing
clinical trials.”

The acquired technology platform includes two pending U.S. patent
applications and potential product candidates for breast and prostate
cancer treatment. Under the purchase agreement, AIT will receive
500,000 common shares of Quest. The agreement also provides
single-digit royalty payments on future revenues. The shares, when
issued, will be subject to a 4 month hold period.

This technology purchase is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

About Quest PharmaTech Inc.

Quest is a publicly traded, Alberta-based biotechnology company
committed to the development and commercialization of oncology product
candidates for the treatment of cancer by combining immunotherapeutic
antibodies with chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy or immunoadjuvants.

Quest’s technology platform includes a series of monoclonal antibodies
that target several cancer markers such as CA125, MUC1, PSA, CA19.9 and
TAG72; and proprietary photosensitizers. Quest has body of clinical
experience and a new appreciation of the obstacles and potential of
combinatorial immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer. Quest believes
that combinatorial immunotherapy, which exploits the immune modulating
effects of selected cytotoxic agents normally used in standard
chemotherapy regimens along with specific immune stimulants will lead
to important commercial applications of this immunology platform in the
treatment of cancer.

The most advanced of these product candidates is oregovomab, an
anti-CA125 antibody in combination with front-line chemotherapy for the
treatment of advanced ovarian cancer which is currently undergoing a
phase II clinical trial in 12 centers in Italy and the U.S. The
Company’s MUC1 antibody program that has already undergone a phase I
clinical trial has the potential to permit tumour specific immunization
to a broad range of additional cancers, including colon, non small cell
lung, breast and pancreas. Quest is also conducting a phase I clinical
trial for the treatment of prostate cancer, with its photosensitizer,
SL052.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Quest PharmaTech Inc.