Q BioMed Inc. announced that it has received additional notices of patent allowances from both Canada and Japan for its Uttroside-B molecule intended to treat liver cancer. The patent titled "Uttroside-B and Derivatives Thereof as Therapeutics for Hepatocellular Carcinoma" is a Method Of Use patent that covers the use of Uttroside-B for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. International and additional U.S. claims are currently under prosecution for the technology which addresses a severe unmet need for a safe and effective drug to treat HCC. Q BioMed has the exclusive rights to the technology through an agreement with the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, an Autonomous Institute under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Uttroside-B has shown ten times the potency against HCC as compared to the current standard of care drug in early pre-clinical investigation. Currently, there are only two approved first-line therapies for HCC. Challenges with current treatments include patients becoming resistant to the specific drugs, adverse side effects, and high costs. An estimated 700,000 people are diagnosed with HCC each year, with the global market for liver cancer drugs expected to grow to $3.9 billion by 2027.