Alfacell Forms New Thoracic Cancer Advisory Board

BLOOMFIELD, N.J., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alfacell Corporation(Nasdaq: ACEL) today announced the formation of a Thoracic Cancer AdvisoryBoard to support the Company's strategic focus on developing novelribonuclease (RNase) therapies for the treatment of diseases such asmesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Thoracic Cancer Advisory Board will work in coordination with theCompany's prestigious Scientific Advisory Board, led by Dr. David Sidransky,Director of Head and Neck Cancer Research at Johns Hopkins University, as wellas with the Business Policy Committee, chaired by former U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "We are extremely pleased to have attracted such esteemed colleagues tothe Alfacell Thoracic Cancer Advisory Board," stated Kuslima Shogen, ChiefExecutive Officer of Alfacell. "All are highly-accomplished,internationally-renowned experts in oncology, and are universally recognizedas thought leaders and pioneers in mesothelioma and lung cancer research. Welook forward to collaborating with them closely to advance our shared visionof developing new therapies to treat these insidious diseases." Michele Carbone, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman Dr. Carbone is Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at LoyolaUniversity in Chicago, where he is also a tenured Professor at the CancerCenter, Department of Pathology. Previously, Dr. Carbone held scientific andacademic positions at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and at theUniversity of Chicago. He is a board certified pathologist, and a pastrecipient of the NIH's prestigious Fogarty Fellowship. During his fellowshipat the NIH, Dr. Carbone obtained his Ph.D. in Human Pathology through acombined research program between the University of Roma and the NIH. He iswell-known for his groundbreaking research that identified the SV40 virus-- previously characterized only as a polio vaccine contaminant -- as a humancarcinogen in mesothelioma, and for discovering that genetic predisposition tomineral fiber carcinogenesis is the cause of a mesothelioma epidemic inTurkey. More recently, Dr. Carbone's work has identified the mechanisms ofasbestos carcinogenesis and co-carcinogenesis with SV40. Dr. Carbone's workin mesothelioma has been acknowledged by the National Cancer Institute (NCI),the American Cancer Society, and other leading research institutions, whichhave awarded him numerous grants in recent years -- including a $9.5M PO-1 in2006 from the NCI to study the pathogenesis of mesothelioma. Dr. Carbone hasauthored nearly 200 publications, including original research articles, books,and book chapters. He is a graduate of the Medical School of Rome, andobtained board certification in Anatomic Pathology from both the University ofRoma and the University of Chicago. Harvey I. Pass, M.D. Dr. Pass is Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgeryand Thoracic Oncology at NYU School of Medicine and Comprehensive CancerCenter. He has studied pleural mesothelioma since 1988 when he was the Headof Thoracic Oncology and Senior Investigator of the Surgery Branch of theNational Cancer Institute in Bethesda and then Head of Thoracic Oncology atthe Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit (one of the 37 NCI designatedComprehensive Cancer Centers). Dr. Pass combines cytoreductive surgery, eitherEPP or pleurectomy, with innovative or standard adjuvant therapies includingnovel antiangiogenesis inhibitors postoperatively or chemotherapycombinations. His Thoracic Oncology laboratory is pursuing the study ofproteins (proteomics) and gene expression profiles in mesothelioma to developnew early detection strategies, as well as designing alternate innovativetreatments which use novel proteins as targets for mesothelioma. Dr. Pass isa graduate of Duke University Medical School. Raja M. Flores, M.D. Dr. Flores is a board-certified thoracic surgeon and Assistant Member atMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York; an Assistant AttendingSurgeon at Memorial Hospital, New York and an Assistant Professor ofCardiothoracic Surgery, Weill College, Cornell University, New York.Previously, Dr. Flores was a recipient of prestigious fellowships at HarvardMedical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he received theThoracic Oncology Clinical Research Fellowship for IntraoperativeChemotherapy, Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer. Dr. Flores is well-known forhaving compiled one of the largest mesothelioma patient databases to researchareas of failure, and to determine how to improve treatments. His other areasof expertise include minimally invasive thoracic surgery (thoracoscopy); VATSlobectomy; lung cancer screening; tracheobronchial resection; extrapleuralpneumonectomy for mesothelioma; intraoperative chemotherapy; lymph-nodemapping; esophageal cancer, and Belsey repair. Dr. Flores is also a frequentlecturer and presenter on the diagnosis, treatment and management ofmesothelioma and lung cancer. He is a graduate of the Albert Einstein Collegeof Medicine in New York. About Alfacell Corporation Alfacell Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on thediscovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for cancer,using its proprietary RNase technology platform. ONCONASE(R) (ranpirnase),Alfacell's lead investigational drug candidate, is currently being evaluatedin several studies, including a Phase IIIb registration study for malignantmesothelioma (MM) and a Phase I / II trial in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer(NSCLC). For more information, please visit http://www.alfacell.com. This press release includes statements that may constitute"forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe,""estimate," "project," "expect" or similar expressions. Forward-lookingstatements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results todiffer materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that wouldcause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to,uncertainties involved in transitioning from concept to product, uncertaintiesinvolving the ability of the Company to finance research and developmentactivities, potential challenges to or violations of patents, uncertaintiesregarding the outcome of clinical trials, the Company's ability to securenecessary approvals from regulatory agencies, dependence upon third-partyvendors, and other risks discussed in the Company's periodic filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-lookingstatements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statementsfor revisions or changes after the date of this release.Please provide any information you think may be helpful to mesothelioma victimd and their families