QUEBEC CITY, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - DiagnoCure , a life sciences company commercializing high-value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering lab services, today announced it has acquired Catalyst Oncology of Worcester, MA, and its lead proprietary prognostic tests for breast, colon and potentially other cancers. DiagnoCure intends to complete the development of the tests and conduct additional validating clinical studies.
“This acquisition reflects the continuing execution of our focused M&A strategy, aimed at building a critical mass of high-value oncology diagnostic products that will be offered through our U.S. CLIA-certified laboratory, which is on track to open later this year,” said John Schafer, President and CEO of DiagnoCure. “The newly acquired tests have the potential to increase clinician and patient confidence when making critical treatment decisions and will complement our GC-C-based tests for colorectal cancer, acquired earlier this year.”
The acquired tests have been validated in multiple clinical studies involving patients with five tumor types, including breast and colon. Results have shown the tests to be strong indicators for a patient’s risk of disease recurrence, as well as predictors of response to certain cancer therapies, such as tamoxifen or traditional chemotherapy. The tests measure the level of activated tyrosine phosphorylated (PY) Shc protein and p66 Shc protein in tissue specimens. The Shc proteins are involved in a number of well documented cellular pathways that are correlated with tumor aggressiveness across many types of cancer, offering a broad opportunity for clinical testing. These tests were developed by A. Raymond Frackelton Jr., Ph.D., and researchers at the Roger Williams Medical Center of Providence, Rhode Island.
With a 2007 estimate of 178,480 new cases and 40,460 deaths in the United States, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer in women. The global survival rate over five years is 89% but falls to 26% when breast cancer has spread to distant organs. Appropriate risk assessment of the cancer after the initial treatment will facilitate critical treatment decisions and may increase the probability of recurrence-free survival, while avoiding ineffective treatments and related cost.
The terms of the agreement call for an upfront payment of approximately US$3 million comprised of cash and DiagnoCure shares followed by potential future payments related to the achievement of specific milestones.
Conference call Thursday
Mr. Schafer and members of his management team will talk with investors via conference call Thursday, August 16, 2007, at 10:30 AM Eastern Daylight time. To access the audio conference in real-time, please dial 1-800-731-6941. A replay of the audio conference will also be available on DiagnoCure’s website at www.diagnocure.com as of August 17, 2007, at 12:00 p.m. (ET), through a link on our Investors page.
About DiagnoCure
DiagnoCure is a life sciences company commercializing high-value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering lab services that increase clinician and patient confidence in making critical treatment decisions. DiagnoCure is currently preparing to launch the first GC-C-based molecular test for the management of colorectal cancer. In 2003, the Company entered into a strategic alliance with Gen-Probe for the development and commercialization of a second-generation test for PCA3, DiagnoCure’s proprietary genetic marker highly specific to prostate cancer. The test is now available through laboratories in the U.S. using PCA3 analyte specific reagents (ASR) from Gen-Probe, and in Europe as the CE-marked PROGENSA(TM) PCA3 in vitro assay. In addition to its own research, the Company intends to acquire or in-license additional promising cancer biomarkers from both academic and commercial institutions. For more information visit www.diagnocure.com
Forward-looking statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expected. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are based on expectations and hypotheses and also involve risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond DiagnoCure’s control. As a result, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements regarding the outcome of research and development projects, clinical studies and future revenues are based on management expectations. In addition, the reader is referred to the applicable general risks and uncertainties described in DiagnoCure’s most recent Annual Information Form under the heading “Risk Factors”. DiagnoCure undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein.
DiagnoCure Inc.
CONTACT: DiagnoCure Inc., Thom Skinner, Chief Financial Officer, (418)527-6100, communications@diagnocure.com; The Equicom Group Inc., EricBouchard, (514) 844-7997, ebouchard@equicomgroup.com
