Laura van ‘t Veer, Ph.D., Honored as Inventor of MammaPrint® Breast Cancer Test
Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Irvine, California, June 16, 2015 / B3C newswire / -- Agendia co-founder and Chief Research Officer, Laura van’t Veer, Ph.D., has won the European Inventor Award in the SME category. The European Inventor Award is a prestigious innovation award presented by the European Patent Office, with only 15 inventors nominated in a total of five categories worldwide.
The world-renowned molecular biologist is the co-inventor of Agendia’s MammaPrint® breast cancer test, a genetic diagnostic test used for breast cancer patients in order to estimate the risk of recurrence up to 20 years into the future. The use of MammaPrint® in patients diagnosed with breast cancer makes it possible to constrain the use of chemotherapy and reduce overtreatment by 30 percent. More than 40,000 women in 34 countries have reaped the benefits of Van’t Veer’s test to date.
The European Patent Office (EPO) nominated Van’t Veer for her pioneering work: she was one of the three finalists for the European Inventor Award 2015 in the SME category. A total of five innovation awards were presented at the end of last week in Palais Brongniart (La Bourse) in Paris, France. The award serves to recognize the fundamental way in which Dr. Van ‘t Veer has changed breast cancer care with her invention, MammaPrint®. These radical changes extend to the treatment method used, the patient’s quality of life, and the healthcare costs involved.
The President of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli, commenting on the award during the ceremony: “Van’t Veer’s work has revolutionized cancer diagnostics by making it possible for treatments to be tailored to the individual needs of each patient. This makes her one of the most outstanding European inventors in the area of individualized medicine.”
The genomic test invented by Dr. Van’t Veer provides clinicians with valuable data on women’s breast cancer and the risk of metastasis. Women revealed by the MammaPrint® to be at high risk of metastasis may benefit from chemotherapy treatment, but if the risk of recurrence turns out to be low, it is safe to avoid chemotherapy altogether and pursue effective alternative treatment methods instead. MammaPrint® is the fastest-growing, most cost-effective test for determining the risk of recurrence of breast cancer to date and the only test of its kind to be supported by peer-reviewed research data from prospective cohort studies.
Implications of MammaPrint®:
• Chemotherapy overtreatment can be reduced by 30 percent without endangering patients’ lives.
• Women who can safely forego chemotherapy also avoid the often-devastating side effects of chemotherapy that can potentially result in permanent damage, such as congestive heart failure or diminished cognitive function.
• MammaPrint®’s ability to identify women with low exposure to the risk of recurrence has eliminated the need for health insurance carriers to cover the high costs of chemotherapy if this is not strictly necessary, driving down the total cost of healthcare as a result.
Dr. Van’t Veer is currently the Program Leader of the Breast Oncology Program and a Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco and CRO at Agendia. Her current research focuses on the molecular basis for an early response to therapy, in order to effectively manage the development of therapy-specific companion diagnostics. “We are extremely proud of Dr. Van’t Veer and congratulate her on winning this prestigious international award,” said Agendia CEO Jan Egberts. “This accolade is a testament to the importance of her contribution to breast cancer care for women now and in the future and will help in creating a more prudent healthcare economy. All of us at Agendia are honored to support Dr. Van’t Veer’s extraordinary achievements and to help ensure her progress in the future.”
About the European Inventor Award
Presented annually by the European Patent Office since 2006, the European Inventor Award honors inventive individuals and teams whose groundbreaking work provides solutions to the challenges of our time and therefore contributes to social development, economic growth, and prosperity. An international judging panel of leading experts in economics, politics, the media, science and research selects 15 finalists and the eventual winners. The award is presented in a total of five categories: Industry, Research, Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Non-European Countries and Lifetime Achievement. Three inventors nominated for this year’s awards hail from the Netherlands.
About Agendia
Agendia NV was created in 2003 from the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NLI) and has branches in Amsterdam (40 employees) and Irvine, California (80 employees).
Agendia specializes in the creation, development and marketing of genome-based molecular diagnostic products. Its objective is to improve the quality of life of cancer patients by providing medical specialists with vital information that enables them to provide safe and effective personalized treatment to patients.
MammaPrint® is the first breast cancer test to have received six approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA approval requires clinical and analytical validation and reporting systems that ensure patient safety. Agendia’s approach consists of three complementary breast cancer tests, MammaPrint®, TargetPrint® and BluePrint®, whichprovides oncologists with a detailed molecular diagnosis that improves their ability to determine whether breast cancer patients would benefit from hormone therapy, chemotherapy and/or specific therapy. This makes it possible to use therapy more efficiently and more effectively manage healthcare costs.
Agendia is also involved in the development of various other new products, including a further expansion of its range of breast cancer tests, and products to control colon cancer ( ColoPrint ® ). Agendia’s research and development activities are driven by its well-established scientific roots and strengthened through partnerships with pioneering academic consortiums, cancer centers (Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital) and various pharmaceutical companies.
Contacts Agendia NV
Guido Brink
Vice President Regulatory Affairs & EU Market Access
Science Park 406
NL-1098 XH Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)20 462 1523
Guido.Brink@agendia.com
SPJ Financial & Corporate Communications
Leon Melens
Herengracht 448
NL-1017 CA Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)20 647 81 81
Cell: +31 (0)6 53 81 64 27
lmelens@spj.nl
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