Expression Pathology Raises $6.5 Million to Develop Personalized Medicine Assays for Protein Biomarkers in FFPE Tissue
April 20 2009 - 2:08PM
PR Newswire (US)
Proprietary tissue proteomics platform and strategic vision for
future growth in pre-clinical and clinical biomarker research spur
new financing ROCKVILLE, Md., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Expression
Pathology Inc., a leading developer of technology for tissue
protein analysis, announced that it has received additional
financing of $6.5 million. The financing was led exclusively by
Abraxis BioScience, a fully integrated, global biotechnology
company. The financing will be used to apply Expression Pathology's
patented Liquid Tissue(R) proteomics technology in developing
proprietary, personalized medicine clinical assays that relate
measurement of protein biomarkers of drug response and disease
prognosis to specific patient treatment decisions. "Formalin-fixed
paraffin-embedded tissue is the standard form of patient tumor and
biopsy samples worldwide," said Casey Eitner, President and CEO of
Expression Pathology. "We believe the ability of our technology to
interrogate archived tissue collections to discover and validate
protein biomarkers that relate to disease progression, drug
response and toxicity, and to measure those biomarkers accurately
in standard tissue from clinical trials and medical care, will
translate into a tremendously valuable asset. We are pleased that
Abraxis shares this vision." "Expression Pathology has created
unique technology solutions for tissue protein analysis," said Lex
Van der Ploeg, Senior Vice President of Integrative Medicine and
Translational Science at Abraxis, and a Board Member of Expression
Pathology. "Abraxis is looking forward to harnessing these
technologies and clinical assays in its development and diagnostic
programs, and to benefiting from the value which is being created
by growing interest from biopharmaceutical companies and academic
research groups, who are increasingly seeking to access Expression
Pathology's technologies to accelerate their own research and drug
development." About Abraxis BioScience Abraxis BioScience is a
fully integrated global biotechnology company dedicated to the
discovery, development and delivery of next-generation therapeutics
and core technologies that offer patients safer and more effective
treatments for cancer and other critical illnesses. The company's
portfolio includes the world's first and only protein-bound
nanoparticle chemotherapeutic compound (ABRAXANE), which is based
on the company's proprietary tumor targeting technology known as
the nab(R) platform. The first FDA approved product to use this
nab(R) platform, ABRAXANE, was launched in 2005 for the treatment
of metastatic breast cancer. Abraxis trades on the NASDAQ Global
Market under the symbol ABII. For more information, please visit
http://www.abraxisbio.com/. About Expression Pathology Inc.
Expression Pathology Inc., Gaithersburg, MD, has developed
proprietary techniques for discovery and analysis of protein
biomarkers in tissue. The company's Director(R) laser
microdissection slides enable precise, rapid, automated collection
of specific cellular features from tumor tissue. Its Liquid
Tissue(R) reagent technology makes possible discovery and
measurement of proteins in formalin-fixed tissue by mass
spectrometry. EPI employs its Liquid Tissue(R) proteomics platform
in its own and collaborative biomarker discovery and assay
development programs, and offers contract research services and
products. For more information, please visit
http://www.expressionpathology.com/. DATASOURCE: Expression
Pathology Inc. CONTACT: Peter Tunon, VP Sales and Marketing of
Expression Pathology, +1-301-977-3654, ; or Maili Bergman, Director
Corporate Communications of Abraxis BioScience, Inc.,
+1-310-405-7522, Web Site: http://www.expressionpathology.com/
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