Proteome Regulatory News (PRM)

27 May 2009 07:00



Proteome Sciences plc ("Proteome Sciences")

License Agreement in Brain Damage

27th May, 2009 Proteome Sciences plc has entered into a license agreement with Axela Inc. for the development of assays to measure its proprietary brain damage biomarkers on Axela's multiplex biomarker assay dotLab™  System. Proteome Sciences has established a strong portfolio of patent protected blood biomarkers of brain damage-related disorders working in collaboration with the Biomedical Proteomics Research Group (BPRG) at the University of Geneva. The range of diseases covered by Proteome's patents include stroke, subarachnoid haemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, amyetrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.

Under the terms of the licence Axela will provide a dotLab system and consumable reagents at the BPRG and obtains an option to license developed assays for research and diagnostic uses.

Financial terms of the license agreement were not disclosed.

Commenting on the licence Proteome Sciences' CEO Christopher Pearce stated,

"We are pleased to be working with Axela to develop multiplex biomarker assays for a range of our proprietary brain damage-related biomarkers. We have been impressed with the ability of the dotLab System to accurately measure multiple proteins in blood samples and recognise the important potential of the system for improving the treatment outcomes of these clinically challenging disorders where early and precise diagnosis is of critical importance.

The research licence with Axela represents further external validation of our biomarker discovery capabilities in the CNS therapeutic area. As a leading biomarker Contract Research Organisation we offer clients fast, flexible and cost effective solutions for biomarker discovery, validation and assay development using the unique TMT® workflows through our PS Biomarker Services division."

"We are excited to be working with Proteome Sciences and the University of Geneva to incorporate these markers into the panelPlus™ Biomarker Menu for clinical research and eventual diagnostic applications" said Rocky Ganske, President and CEO, Axela Inc. "panelPlus Sensors provide the first real time, user configurable approach to multiplexing and greatly simplify validation of both clinical utility and analytical performance. Axela's technology is particularly suited to brain injury testing where rapid and accurate quantitation of protein biomarker panels is vital".

Ends

Stroke - Background

Third largest cause of death in US

Leading cause of disability in adults

Every 3.3 minutes someone dies in the US from stroke

4 Million people in the US have survived stroke with increased risk of subsequent stroke

Direct medical costs in US estimated at $28 billion per annum

Blood test to guide and monitor effects of treatment urgently required

Subarachnoid Haemorrhage - Background

Represents 7% of all strokes

Over 50% fatality rate

Around 50% of survivors have severe disability

No means of predicting survival or level of long term disability

Traumatic Brain Injury - Background

Approx 1.4 million incidents in US per annum

5.3 million in US have long-term care needs due to TBI 

Total cost of $60 billion per annum to US economy

Risks of cumulative effects

No means of predicting survival or level of long term disability

About Proteome Sciences:

Proteome Sciences is a leading biomarker CRO providing protein biomarker discovery, validation and assay development services. The Company's MS Biomarker Assay system (MBA) uses its proprietary isobaric Tandem Mass Tags (TMT®) and reference materials combined with isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Highly multiplexed assays can be developed in weeks and are suitable for screening 10's to 100's of candidate biomarkers in validation studies. Assays for validated biomarkers can be rapidly developed using the same isotope dilution mass spectrometry format, or can be transferred for immunoassay development.

The Company's own research is focused on neurological and neurodegenerative conditions and it has discovered and patented blood biomarkers in stroke and brain damage as well as several cancers, solid organ transplant rejection and Alzheimer's disease. Proteome Sciences is based in Cobham, UK with facilities in London and Frankfurt.

About Axela Inc.:

Axela's products deliver rapid understanding of biological interactions, and use real time information to significantly improve the amount and quality of information derived from traditional immunoassay. This approach shortens time to result, greatly simplifies multiplexing and provides access to unique categories of markers that form a pipeline of future diagnostic offerings. Axela has operations in Toronto and California. Its major investor is VenGrowth Private Equity Partners Inc.

  For further information please contact: