MultiCell Technologies, Inc., an integrated biopharmaceutical company based in Rhode Island, announced today that it has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with Maxim Biotech, Inc., a non-public Maryland-based medical research products company. The focus of the research will be the development of products for working with liver stem cells in the detection and treatment of liver cancer.

Although not one of the most common types of cancer in the U.S., liver cancer is still deadly. Nationwide there were over 21,000 new cases of primary liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in 2008 according to the National Cancer Institute. Approximately 85% of those cases were fatal. Worldwide, liver cancer is more common due to the prevalence of hepatitis infection. Hepatocellular carcinoma, resulting from Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, is the most common cancer in some parts of the world.

One of the problems in dealing with the disease