BURLINGAME, Calif. and CONCORD, Calif., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Epitomics, Inc. and Biocare Medical LLC today announced a strategic alliance to develop unique reagent products for the immunohistochemistry (IHC) clinical diagnostic market. This multi-year agreement would allow Biocare to utilize Epitomics' novel rabbit monoclonal antibody (RabMab) technology platform to develop reagents and reagent test kits for the IHC diagnostic market. Epitomics will supply the rabbit monoclonal antibodies to Biocare while Biocare will utilize its expertise in the IHC market to develop a line of unique test kits incorporating single, double and triple stains. These tests will help address the pressing clinical challenge of assessing which patients should receive specific genetically targeted therapeutic agents.
Dr. Guo-Liang Yu, CEO and President of Epitomics, stated, "We are very pleased to be working with Biocare to develop new and unique products for the IHC markets. The alliance demonstrates the continued adoption of Epitomics' technology by diagnostic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry leaders. We are pleased to be at the forefront of the development of new diagnostic tools to aid the pathologist in therapy selection. The advantages of RabMab's for diagnostic applications include their ultra-high affinity, diverse epitope recognition and improved immune response to small epitopes."
Roy Paxton Yih, CEO and Director of Sales and Marketing of Biocare said, "We are very excited about the synergistic opportunities in working with Epitomics. Biocare has pioneered a 4-step double stain technology, utilizing mouse and rabbit antibodies. It uses two distinct targets in a cocktail format as well as a detection cocktail of anti-mouse, anti-rabbit conjugated to polymer-Horseradish peroxidase and/or polymer-Alkaline phosphatase. This patent pending product system simplifies a previously cumbersome, technically complicated process. Our Double Vision Line of double-stain detection products is used in laboratories either manually on the bench or on several automation platforms that are currently commercially available. Please visit our website for a complete listing. Biocare will develop novel double and triple stain combinations incorporating Rabbit monoclonals developed by Epitomics. These products will have both research and clinical utility. Please see our web site for a complete listing of our products."
About Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies
RabMab technology is used for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies to diagnose and treat cancer and other diseases. Compared to currently available antibody technology on the market, such as mouse hybridomas, Epitomics' technology can generate antibodies with superior binding affinity and bioactivity in a wide variety of biological assays. The high throughput and robust nature of the technology allows for the simultaneous discovery of disease targets and potential therapeutic antibodies in the same experiments, significantly shortening the drug discovery and development cycle.
About Biocare
Biocare is a leading provider of reagents, test kits automated equipment and special stains for the immunohistochemistry, research and other diagnostic markets. The company's core strength is its unsurpassed team of experts in the IHC and special stains market. The company provides the most innovative IHC product line that solves staining issues and vastly improves the quality of IHC stains. In addition, Biocare provides a proprietary line of equipment to meet the customer's needs for decloaking and slide staining, including the company's Nemesis line of autostainers. For further information, visit Biocare's web site at www.biocare.net
About Epitomics
Epitomics, Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company that is dedicated to developing breakthrough monoclonal antibody technology for research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The Company utilizes a unique and proprietary technology invented by scientists at Loyola University of Chicago and the University of California at San Francisco. Compared to currently available antibody technology on the market, such as mouse hybridoma, the Company's proprietary technology can generate RabMAbs more efficiently and that have superior binding affinity and bioactivity in a wide variety of biological assays. The Company is headquartered in Burlingame, California, and operates a wholly owned subsidiary in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China. More information about Epitomics can be found at www.epitomics.com
Epitomics, Inc.CONTACT: Barry Hotchkies of Epitomics, Inc., +1-650-583-6688, orBarry@epitomics.com; or Gene Castagnini of Biocare Medical LLC,+1-925-603-8000, or Gene@biocare.net
