TAMPA, Fla., and WELLESLEY, Mass., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Moffitt Cancer Center and Xceed Molecular, a pioneer in the development of cost-effective, easy-to-use gene-expression analysis systems, announced today that the renowned cancer center has joined Xceed’s Strategic Collaborator Program and granted Xceed a worldwide, exclusive license to a gene signature for colon cancer. This colon cancer-specific gene signature, one of many technologies developed at Moffitt, was discovered by Timothy J. Yeatman, M.D., Steven A. Eschrich, Ph.D., and Gregory Bloom, Ph.D. The focus of the current collaboration is to develop a new molecular test that is more predictive of patient prognosis than currently available assays. Xceed will work with the Moffitt team, which also includes Steven Enkemann, M.S., Ph.D., to complete the clinical development and validation of the gene signature, which is designed to predict the likelihood of disease-free survival of patients with colon cancer using biopsy tissues from a colonoscopy.
Moffitt is collaborating with Xceed research scientists to finalize the list of genes in the signature that will be included on the colon cancer TipChip (the consumable microarray device used by Xceed’s Ziplex(R) System). Xceed will run the first samples in its Expression Services Laboratory in Toronto to optimize the performance of the signature on the Ziplex platform. Xceed will also provide a Ziplex System to the Moffitt team, which will complete additional validation studies. Together, Moffitt and Xceed will determine the clinical utility of the colon cancer TipChip and the technical and commercial feasibility of developing a diagnostic test. Specific terms were not disclosed.
“Moffitt Cancer Center continues to be a leader in translational research -- moving gene-expression biomarkers from basic science into clinical use for patient diagnostics -- and we are honored to work with them to develop a better test for colon cancer,” said Xceed President and CEO David Deems. “This agreement is yet another validation of our Ziplex System. It follows similar agreements with the Center for Molecular Medicine and the University of Florida, other institutions at the vanguard of translational medicine.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Dr. Yeatman said, “Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer in both men and women and more than 100,000 new cases are reported each year in the United States. With the diagnostic tests currently available today, it’s often difficult to distinguish aggressive from non-aggressive colon cancer. We have high hopes that the gene signature that we are developing may be useful in helping physicians to make critical treatment decisions, but the great challenge in this field has been turning promising biomarkers into routine diagnostic tools. Our commitment at Moffitt is to remain at the forefront of the prevention and cure of cancer, translating our many early-stage technologies into marketable products and services. We believe that Xceed, with its Ziplex System, is the right partner to help us move our discoveries out of the research lab and into the clinical lab to make meaningful improvements in patient care.”
About Xceed’s Strategic Collaborator Program
The Strategic Collaborator Program is a mutually beneficial agreement with a high-profile institution or investigator designed to propel the partners’ clinical research, while providing Xceed with additional real-world clinical-laboratory experience and access to critical research results. The program is an integral part of the company’s strategy to add condition- or pathway-specific assays to its portfolio of products that will be commercialized for use as diagnostic tests or in clinical research. Xceed has already committed to several other institutions through this program and expects to sign agreements with and install its Ziplex System at six to 10 Strategic Collaborators in North America by the end of 2008.
About Xceed Molecular (http://www.XceedMolecular.com)
Xceed’s vision is to advance molecular diagnostics by successfully translating novel multiplex tests into routine clinical practice and to create robust diagnostic solutions to improve disease outcomes. Our products comprise the Ziplex(R) System for automated gene-expression analysis (available in the US and Canada for research use only), gene expression services, and pre-configured arrays. Xceed is also developing multiplexed genomic tests for the Ziplex platform, both internally and with strategic partners. Xceed’s R&D and manufacturing are headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with executive offices in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
About H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Located in Tampa, Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center is the only Florida-based cancer center with the NCI designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center for its excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt currently has 15 affiliates in Florida, one in Georgia, and two in Puerto Rico. Additionally, Moffitt is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country’s leading cancer centers, and is listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” for cancer, as well as for ear, nose, and throat. Moffitt’s sole mission is to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.
CONTACT: Media, Caroline Grossman, +1-781-771-5579,
caroline.grossman@gmail.com; or Company, Susan Josey, +1-972-317-8948,
sjosey@xceedmolecular.com, both of Xceed Molecular; or Michelle Foley of
Mofffitt Cancer Center, +1-813-745-1505, michelle.foley@moffitt.org
Web site: http://www.xceedmolecular.com/
