MetaStat Receives Additional State Clinical Laboratory Licenses

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetaStat, Inc. (OTCQB: MTST), a pre-commercial biotechnology company, today announced it has received California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island state licensure for its next-generation digital pathology laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts. These state certifications follow receipt of CLIA certification from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that now allow MetaStat to accept clinical samples from 48 states.

“Receiving these state licenses coupled with our recently announced positive analytical and clinical validation studies for the MetaSite Breast™ test are important steps towards commercialization.”

Douglas A. Hamilton, MetaStat’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated “Receiving these state licenses coupled with our recently announced positive analytical and clinical validation studies for the MetaSite Breast™ test are important steps towards commercialization.”

Results from a clinical study led by ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, presented at the 39th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) in December 2016, found the MetaSite Breast™ test was able to identify patients at greater risk of distant cancer metastasis who had low Oncotype DX Recurrence Score results. Results from a Kaiser Permanente Cohort Study demonstrated MetaSite Breast™ score was a statically significant predictor of distant metastasis and a binary cutpoint was able to discriminate high and low risk patient groups.

Mr. Hamilton continued “MetaStat plans to build on these positive data and evaluate MetaSite Breast™ in additional studies to demonstrate that it can add complementary prognostic information to multiparameter gene panel assays. Expanding our clinical state licenses is an exciting step forward.”

CMS regulates all clinical laboratory testing at over 254,000 sites in U.S. through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988. This regulation was enacted to ensure consistent, accurate and reliable test results reporting from clinical laboratories across the country used for the diagnosis, treatment, and/or prognosis of disease in human subjects.

About MetaSite Breast™

The MetaSite Breast™ test is intended for use in patients with early stage invasive breast cancer who have node-negative or node-positive, Hormone Receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative disease. Clinical studies have demonstrated the MetaSite score (MS) is significantly associated with increased risk of cancer metastasis. MetaSite Breast™ is an analytically validated, fully automated digital pathology/image analysis assay that identifies Mena expressing tumor cells in direct contact with CD68+ perivascular macrophages and CD31+ endothelial cells (“MetaSites”). MetaSites have been shown to be the portal of entry for cancer cells into the blood stream contributing to the development of cancer metastasis. The MetaSite Breast™ assay is performed on standard formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue and is clinically available through our CLIA-certified commercial laboratory located in Boston, MA.

About MetaStat, Inc.

MetaStat is focused on the development and commercialization of diagnostic tests that are prognostic for the risk of cancer metastasis, companion diagnostics to predict drug response, and anti-metastatic drugs. Our driver-based platform technology is based on the pivotal role of the Mena protein and its isoforms, a common pathway for the development of metastatic disease and drug resistance in epithelial-based solid tumors.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks, including those set forth in the company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and the company undertakes no obligation to update such statements.