MetaStat, Inc. Announces Notice of Allowance for a U.S. Patent Supporting Its MetaSite Breast(TM) Test
MONTCLAIR, NJ--(Marketwired - Nov 6, 2013) - MetaStat, Inc. (OTCBB: MTST), a life sciences company focused on understanding and treating systemic metastasis, today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent entitled: "TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT OF METASTASIS (TMEM) AND USES THEREOF IN DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF TUMORS." MetaStat holds a license to this patent (US Patent Application. No. 12/804,779), which claims center on the Company's MetaSite Breast™ diagnostic assay. The Notice of Allowance is the USPTO's official communication that the patent application has successfully completed examination and that a patent will be issued. When issued, the patent will have a term that expires no earlier than in 2030.
The allowed patent claims cover methods for determining the risk that tumor cells from a subject will undergoing hematogenous (systemic) metastasis. The methods comprise the identification and measurement of the number of actual sites (called the "TMEM" or "MetaSite") where metastatic cancer cells enter the bloodstream. Further, the claims cover the use of the measurement of MetaSites in the diagnosis, prognosis and the determination of treatment in secretory epithelial cancers including breast, pancreas, prostate, colon, brain, liver, lung, and head & neck.
"We are pleased to receive this notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent Office. Solidifying our intellectual property around the MetaSite Breast™ diagnostic assay is an important step in the development of our unique function-based diagnostics that aim to provide superior information to patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer," stated Dr. Oscar Bronsther, MetaStat's CEO.
About MetaStat, Inc.
MetaStat Inc. (OTCBB: MTST) is a life sciences company that develops and commercializes best-in-class diagnostic products and novel therapeutics for the early and reliable prediction and treatment of systemic metastasis -- cancer that spreads from a primary tumor through the bloodstream to other areas of the body. MetaStat is focused on breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers, where systemic metastasis is responsible for ~90% of all deaths.
The company's function-based diagnostic platform technology is based on the identification and understanding of the pivotal role of the Mena protein and its isoforms, a common pathway for the development of systemic metastatic disease in all epithelial-based tumors. Both the MetaSite Breast™ and MenaCalc™ product lines are designed to accurately stratify patients based on their individual risk of metastasis and to allow clinicians to better "customize" cancer treatment decisions by positively identifying patients with a high-risk of metastasis who need aggressive therapy and by sparing patients with a low-risk of metastasis from the harmful side effects and expense of chemotherapy.
Additionally, the MenaBloc™ therapeutic program aims to build upon Mena biology and alternative splicing events as a driver of disease progression to exploit novel targets that provide precision medicines in oncology.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks, including those set forth in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements.