Paper in International Journal of Oncology Reports Alfacell's ONCONASE(R) Suppresses Intracellular Oxidat...( SOMERSET N.J. Aug. 22 / Alfacell ...),Health

SOMERSET, N.J., Aug. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL) today announced that a paper published in the International Journal of Oncology (2007; Vol. 31, Issue 3: 663-669) reports that ONCONASE(R) substantially decreases reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) in normal cell types and tumor cell lines. The observed antioxidant activity of ONCONASE may be important to its cytotoxic effect on cancer cells and mechanistic synergism with other anti-cancer agents.

The pre-clinical in vitro research conducted by Alfacell and researchers at New York Medical College demonstrated that treatment of cells in cultures with ONCONASE reduced intracellular oxidative stress by suppressing ROI generation and promoting their degradation. The anti-oxidative function of ONCONASE may be an important element of its antiproliferative/cytotoxic activity towards cancer cells and a possible mechanism of its well-documented synergism with other anti-cancer agents. Additionally, the data indicate that ONCONASE has a propensity to reverse the generation of ROI from asbestos exposure in mesothelial cells. The Company is currently conducting a Phase IIIb human clinical trial of ONCONASE for the treatment of patients suffering from unresectable malignant mesothelioma.

"The data further confirm the cytotoxic effect of ONCONASE on cancer cells," said Kuslima Shogen, Alfacell's chairman and chief executive officer. "ONCONASE's therapeutic potential is broad. This study shows that ONCONASE has potential not only for cancer, but for conditions pathogenetically related to oxidative stress or the activation of NF-kappa B, such as inflammation, autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis and septic shock."

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