Oxford, UK – 26 February 2013 – Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), provider of innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine, announced today that it has signed a licence agreement with the Cancer Cytogenomics Microarray Consortium (CCMC) to design a whole genome, cancer-specific microarray.
The array will incorporate probes for over 500 cancer genes and 130 cancer-associated genomic regions from the CCMC’s design for haematological and solid tumours. The aim is to improve cancer research through the accurate identification of DNA copy number changes, and loss of heterozygosity associated with different cancer types.
The CCMC promotes communication and collaboration among cancer cytogenomics laboratories to foster new cancer genomic discoveries. It follows the same successful model of standardised array design and usage introduced by the International Collaboration for Clinical Genomics (ICCG)* to improve the quality of clinical research using new molecular cytogenetic technologies.
The licence agreement is founded on OGT’s recent success in the development and commercialisation of the CytoSure™ Haematological Cancer +SNP Array targeting the four common haematological cancers: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, Myeloproliferative Neoplasms and Myelodysplastic Syndrome and is a further extension of the company’s work in cancer research.
As lead partner in a £1.16 million grant from the UK government-backed Technology Strategy Board, OGT is also developing a next generation sequencing tumour profiling assay, which will provide specific information about individual cancer samples to facilitate research into personalised treatment strategies. In addition, OGT has a rich portfolio of biomarkers for early stage cancer detection with advanced programmes in colorectal and prostate cancer.
Dr. Mike Evans, CEO at OGT said: “The CCMC licence agreement is an endorsement of both OGT’s expertise in gene-focused arrays and our commitment to developing accurate solutions for early cancer detection and accurate disease characterisation. We are proud to be able to contribute to the good work undertaken by the CCMC to further cancer research through increasing access to more comprehensive, accurately interpreted molecular information.”
Dr. Marilyn Li, former president of the CCMC said, “We are pleased to work with companies that share our belief in standardised, high-quality microarrays and our commitment to ensuring that colleagues can access and share vital data.”
Dr. M Anwar Iqbal, President of the CCMC added, “The use of microarray technology will substantially improve the facility of cytogenetics research laboratories to identify cancer. The CCMC board appreciates the efforts of companies such as OGT to making the CCMC cancer array design available to the cytogenetics research community worldwide.”
Find out more about OGT’s solutions for cancer research at www.ogt.com.
* Formerly known as the International Standards for Cytogenomic Arrays (ISCA).
For more information, please contact:
Oxford Gene Technology
Dr Stephen Archibald, Director of Communications
Oxford Gene Technology, Begbroke Science Park, Begbroke Hill, Woodstock Road, Begbroke, Oxfordshire, OX5 1PF
T: +44 (0) 1865 856826
F: +44 (0) 1865 848684
E: contact@ogt.com
W: www.ogt.com
College Hill (PR Agency for OGT)
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Jen Lewis
College Hill, The Registry, Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4QN
T: +44 (0) 20 7457 2029
E:OGT@collegehill.com
About Oxford Gene Technology
Founded by Professor Ed Southern, Oxford Gene Technology (OGT) provides innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine. The company has two trading businesses: Genomics comprises of CytoSure™ cytogenetics array, labelling and interpretation software products and services for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities, and Genefficiency™ Genomic Services, a unique combination of platforms, expertise and processing capabilities to deliver rapid, relevant genomic data. The Biomarkers business utilises proprietary next generation technologies to build a rich patent-protected portfolio of promising biomarkers for early stage cancer detection including advanced programmes in colorectal and prostate cancer plus the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus.
For more information on the Company, please visit our website at: www.ogt.com
CytoSure™ and Genefficiency™ NGS browser: For Research Use Only; Not for Use in Diagnostic Procedures CytoSure: This product is provided under an agreement between Agilent Technologies, Inc., and OGT. The manufacture, use, sale or import of this product may be subject to one or more of U.S. patents, pending applications, and corresponding international equivalents, owned by Agilent Technologies, Inc. The purchaser has the non-transferable right to use and consume the product for RESEARCH USE ONLY AND NOT for DIAGNOSTICS PROCEDURES. It is not intended for use, and should not be used, for the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of any disease or condition, or for the investigation of any physiological process, in any identifiable human, or for any other medical purpose.
About the CCMC
The Cancer Cytogenomics Microarray Consortium (CCMC) was formed in August 2009 by a group of clinical cytogeneticists, molecular geneticists, and molecular pathologists who are interested in applying microarray technologies to cancer diagnosis and cancer research.
The mission of the consortium is to promote communication and collaboration among cancer cytogenomics laboratories. Our goals are to: (1) establish platform-neutral and cancer specific microarray designs for diagnostic purposes, (2) foster collaboration between participating institutions (3), create a public cancer array database and, (4) carry out multi-center cancer translational research. This will ultimately better serve cancer patients and advance the field of cancer genomics. The CCMC has more than 300 members from over 150 organizations in the U.S., Canada, and abroad.
For more information on the CCMC, please visit www.cancergenomics.org