Miraculins verifies colorectal biomarkers
Miraculins verifies colorectal biomarkers
2006-05-31 10:45 ET - News Release
Dr. Jim Charlton reports
MIRACULINS SUCCESSFULLY VERIFIES COLORECTAL BIOMARKER RESULTS
Miraculins Inc. has successfully verified the diagnostic value of the colorectal biomarkers acquired from Europroteome AG as part of its intellectual property purchase.
Using patient samples obtained from the European Tumor Sample Institute gGmbH, Miraculins was able to verify the utility of its colorectal biomarkers for diagnosing colorectal cancer. By using these biomarkers with Miraculins's Best platform, the company was able to correctly identify cancer positives and those without cancer with a sensitivity and specificity of greater than 80 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively. These results were verified on samples obtained from patients that were formerly part of the biomarker discovery work and intellectual property filings of Europroteome. The next step for these markers will be validation in a larger independent sample set.
"The reliable reproduction of the Europroteome results is a tremendous confirmation of the value we received in our acquisition and a tremendous step forward in advancing our growing pipeline of biomarkers towards commercialization," stated Dr. Jim Charlton, president of Miraculins. "Current diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer are difficult and unpleasant, and we are excited to be developing this non-invasive safe and effective diagnostic method."
Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in North America, with over 150,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The American Cancer Society recommends annual screening for colorectal cancer for all persons over 50 years of age. Current diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer are predominantly image based, invasive and expensive, resulting in low compliance in the general population. The diagnosis of colorectal cancer could be dramatically improved with the availability of reliable biomarker based tests.
The purchase of Europroteome's intellectual property assets saw Miraculins acquire discovery stage markers implicated in colorectal, breast, gastric, pancreatic and numerous epithelial cancers. Miraculins is presently evaluating the potential for advancing additional cancer diagnostic projects.
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