Eutropics Pharmaceuticals Receives U.S. Patent for Novel Diagnostic Method

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eutropics Pharmaceuticals today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 8,168,755entitled, "Antibodies specific to heterodimers of Bcl-2 family and uses thereof."

The patent provides a novel method for extending Eutropics' BH3 profiling technology, which is exclusively licensed from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This technology assesses the ability of a key part of the cancer cell to respond to chemotherapies. This understanding provides a powerful tool for physicians to know ahead of time if a particular cancer treatment will, or will not work in a given patient and can be used to guide the use of existing drugs. This new invention by Eutropics provides a method for extending utility of the technology within solid tumors.

Eutropics is currently involved in the commercialization of the BH3 profiling assay. The test is being developed for use in guiding treatments for multiple myeloma and acute myelogenous leukemia patients as well as solid cancers. This work is being done in collaboration with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, UMass Worcester Medical School, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the NCI/NIH.

Michael Cardone, Co-Founder and CEO of Eutropics commented, "We are very pleased with the progress being made toward the commercial development of BH3 profiling at Eutropics. Gaining protection on this new intellectual property will help extend the process into a broader range of oncology indications. The company has made excellent progress in our clinical studies and is working very hard to provide a tool to help physicians acquire this diagnostic test that will help guide the use of chemotherapies, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes."

Eutropics Pharmaceuticals was founded on research and technology that will enable delivery of personalized medicines to patients suffering from cancer. They seek to displace current treatment paradigms by guiding the use of novel therapies tailored to an individual's cancer profile identified by the proprietary BH3 profiling diagnostic technology. This personalized approach utilizing unique diagnostics and therapeutics should result in more effective treatments and reduce unnecessary suffering.

SOURCE Eutropics Pharmaceuticals