LOS ANGELES, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Today DermTech, a biotechnology company developing skin sampling technologies for pre-clinical and clinical applications, and researchers at the Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, the Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE), and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco announced a collaboration to explore the development of innovative products for skin-related conditions including signs of aging and atopic dermatitis. The groups met as a result of each being commended with the Nature Publishing Group's top poster prize which will be presented today at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology. The group using DermTech's EGIR (Epidermal Genetic Information Retrieval) technology, including Dr. Sherman Chang, DermTech, received the award for best clinical research poster, the group from UCSF led by Drs. Y. Uchida, P.M. Elias, and W.M. Holleran won the award for best basic research.
"Our research group has been interested in the role of the permeability barrier in skin disorders, including attenuating the effects of atopic dermatitis and aging for some time; DermTech's non-invasive, molecular basis for assessing skin status represents a key addition to enhance our research efforts in these areas," said Dr. W.M. Holleran. "We are pleased to have met the authors of the study using DermTech's technology and are looking forward to working with them on potentially high-value developments," said Dr. Peter Elias.
Under the terms of the agreement, DermTech will provide its proprietary EGIR (RNA tape stripping and assay development) technology and the Department of Dermatology UCSF and the VA Medical Center, San Francisco will provide its recognized knowledge and expertise in the areas of skin disorders and aging. The objectives of the agreement include the identification of: novel therapeutic compounds to treat certain skin disorders; novel formulations that will arrest or ameliorate the dermatological effects of aging; novel biomarkers involved in dermatological disorders and aging; and gene expression patterns predictive of patient responsiveness to drug treatment.
"We are extremely honored to have the distinguished, basic research prize winners, Drs. Uchida, Elias, and Holleran working in partnership with DermTech's clinical research prize winner, Dr. Chang, to employ our patented epidermal genetic information retrieval technology to address questions such as arresting or reversing the aging process of skin," said George Schwartz, CEO, DermTech. "We are hopeful that we can make significant and cost effective progress toward product development and are currently exploring partnerships to help commercialize opportunities stemming from this joint effort."
About DermTech:
Headquartered in La Jolla, California, DermTech International (www.dermtech.com) specializes in the development and validation of molecular tests using specimens derived from the skin. The company's proprietary Epidermal Genetic Information Retrieval (EGIR) technology is being studied in the context of tracking treatment efficacy for a variety of dermatologic and other conditions, including the effects of drugs on skin at the molecular level in advance of observable clinical results, and aiding in the diagnosis of disease. DermTech is actively pursuing research using EGIR and its applications toward molecular diagnostics and theranostics in the areas of melanoma, prostate cancer and various skin disorders, such as psoriasis.
Contacts: DermTech George Schwartz CEO 858.450.4222 For DermTech Jennifer Larson 415.409.2729 jlarson@labfive.com
DermTech InternationalCONTACT: George Schwartz, CEO of DermTech, +1-858-450-4222; or JenniferLarson, +1-415-409-2729, jlarson@labfive.com, for DermTech
Web site: http://www.dermtech.com/
