DiaGenic's method for diagnosis of breast cancer works on commercial platform
DiaGenic ASA announced in its report for the 4th Quarter of 2004 that work is in progress on various technological platforms to further develop the Company's patented method for diagnosis of breast cancer. The Company's method consists of analysis of gene expression patterns from easily available sample material such as blood. The Company has previously announced that the method works at the Company's own laboratory with the use of a macroarray platform. At the Norwegian Radium Hospital, tests are being made for DiaGenic with the use of a commercial microarray platform. The first results from this project shows that the Company's method also works with the Agilent platform.
Professor Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale at the Norwegian Radium Hospital confirms that this represents progress in the research: "We have previously found typical gene expression patterns from breast cancer using commercial microarray platforms with sample material from the disease site. Preliminary results from the project using DiaGenic's concept, based on the use of peripheral blood followed by analyses using the Agilent platform, show that biological information linked with the cancer is also present in this type of cell, and that the gene expression pattern can be analysed on a commercial platform. This opens up for the development of a product for early diagnosis of breast cancer, which could be very important for treatment and survival with respect to this disease. I look forward to participating in the further development of the method and bringing it closer to being of practical use for patients."
DiaGenic's founders Praveen Sharma and Anders Lönneborg designate the breakthrough with respect to a commercial platform as very important for marketing the first product as quickly as possible. The results further imply that product development for the next product, diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, can from the start be run on a stable commercial platform. It is expected that this will not only save time and development costs, but also increase interest for collaboration on the part of possible commercial industrial partners.
On the basis of feedback from other platform suppliers with whom the Company is in contact, the positive results using Agilent's platform imply that other commercial platforms of equivalent quality could also be used in further product development. This gives considerable flexibility in the choice of collaborator and increased probability that a product prototype for diagnosis of breast cancer can be developed on schedule, during 2006, and within a budget of 10 million NOK. DiaGenic now aims at entering into an agreement concerning such product development with at least one platform supplier during the first half of 2005.
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