Two news releases on NMPS's research in colon cancer and breast cancer tests. Hey, they use that proteo something word (potato?) in one of them.
Jason
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Monday September 11, 9:15 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Matritech, Inc.
Data from Matritech's NMP66 Breast
Cancer Blood Test Presented at 28th
Meeting Of The ISOBM, One of The
World's Preeminent Cancer Organizations
NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Matritech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMPS - news), a company
developing products to detect and manage cancer, announced today that data reported in its June
1st news release relevant to the company's NMP66 blood test for the detection of breast cancer has
been formally presented at the 28th Meeting of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental
Biology and Medicine (ISOBM) in Munich, Germany. The presentation was made by Dr. Brynmor
Watkins, Ph.D., Matritech's Director of Research and the scientist who discovered NMP66.
Blood specimens from seventy-eight women have been tested using Matritech's proprietary
specimen preparation and mass spectrometry procedures. Forty-five of these specimens came from
women diagnosed with breast cancer in various stages of the disease and 5 were from women with
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), a condition that can progress to cancer. An additional 28
specimens came from women who had no breast disease or had been diagnosed as having benign
breast disease. NMP66 was found in the blood of every woman who was diagnosed with cancer and
was absent in all of the 'normal' specimens.
``We are pleased that one of the most prestigious international cancer organizations selected NMP66
as an emerging cancer test to be presented to its membership of scientists and physicians,'' said
Stephen D. Chubb, chairman and chief executive officer of Matritech. ``The ISOBM board reviewed
the NMP66 material prior to acceptance for presentation by Dr. Watkins. We believe the discussion
of these results at this forum will aid us in achieving prompt clinical introduction of the NMP66 test.
``When breast cancer is discovered at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is well over 90
percent,'' added Chubb. ``Further testing and development of this breast cancer blood test is
therefore of the highest priority for Matritech going forward.''
Matritech's nuclear matrix protein (NMP) core technology correlates levels of NMPs in body fluids
to the presence of cancer. Multiple published clinical studies have validated this ability of NMPs to
detect early-stage cancerous abnormalities. Matritech has a deep pipeline of NMP-based products in
pre- clinical and clinical development for the detection of major cancers including bladder, cervical,
breast, prostate and colon cancers. The NMP22 Test Kit is cleared for marketing in the United States
for management and screening of individuals at risk of bladder cancer. It is also sold in Europe and
Japan, where it is approved for bladder cancer screening.
Matritech Inc., based in Newton, Mass., is using its proprietary nuclear matrix protein (NMP)
technology, discovered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and licensed exclusively to
Matritech, to develop and commercialize innovative serum-, cell- and urine-based NMP diagnostics
that enable physicians to reliably detect and monitor the presence of the major human cancers.
Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Any forward looking statements related
to the Company's expectations regarding the performance, timing or extent of market acceptance, and
regulatory approvals of the Company's breast cancer test are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. These include, but are not limited
to, risks related to the Company's limited capital resources, unforeseen delays in product
development, results of full- scale clinical trials, unforeseen delays or denials of FDA and other
regulatory approvals, future product demand and pricing, competitive products and technical
developments and general business and economic conditions. There can be no assurances that the
Company's expectations for its products will be achieved.
Stephen D. Chubb, CEO
David L. Corbet, President
Matritech, Inc.
617-928-0820
Derek Caldwell
Investor Relations
Sunrise Financial Group
212-421-1616
Jon Siegal
Media Relations
Ronald Trahan Associates, Inc.
508-647-9782, ext. 15
SOURCE: Matritech, Inc.
===============================
Tuesday August 29, 9:15 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Matritech, Inc.
Matritech's Proteomics Discovery
Process Successfully Detects Markers
For Colon Cancer
Level of accuracy similar to NMP66 for breast cancer
NEWTON, Mass., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Matritech Inc. (Nasdaq: NMPS - news), a
cancer-detection company using proprietary proteomics discovery processes to identify and
commercialize proteins as cancer markers, announced the completion of preliminary testing which
confirmed the presence of colon cancer-specific proteins in the blood of patients with this disease.
In a study which tested the blood from twenty (20) colon cancer patients and twenty (20) normal
individuals, Matritech scientists found elevated levels of specific proteins in the blood of all of the
individuals with cancer and, by contrast, found no evidence of such proteins in the blood of any
normal individuals.
The process used by the Matritech scientists permits discovery of cancer- specific proteins, which
was also the basis for the company's NMP66 breast cancer blood test. The company is using this
same discovery process to identify new cancer proteins in the blood of prostate cancer patients, and
intends to apply the same process to other cancer types in the future.
``We are encouraged by the broad applicability of our proteomic discovery process,'' said Dr.
Ying-Jye Wu, Matritech's Vice President of Research and Development. ``Additional testing is
underway to verify the identity of the proteins detected in the blood of these patients. Having
successfully applied our process to breast and colon cancer, we feel that we have established a
proven discovery platform applicable to the majority of other forms of cancer.
``While testing of additional blood specimens continues, we are strengthening our patent position in
these new markers,'' added Dr. Wu. ``We intend to add these colon cancer markers to our existing
patent portfolio consisting of sixteen U.S. patents.''
``Identification and management of individuals with colon cancer would be vastly improved by the
availability of an accurate blood based tumor marker,'' said Stephen D. Chubb, chairman and chief
executive officer of Matritech. ``When colon cancer is discovered at its earliest stage, the five-year
survival rate is over ninety percent. The key to reducing mortality from this disease is earlier, more
accurate information than is available to clinicians today. If further testing continues to show this
level of accuracy, we will be one step closer to reducing mortality from this disease.''
During the next several months, the Company's scientists will examine additional blood samples from
colon cancer patients for the presence of these colon cancer proteins, which may be useful in the
early detection of colon cancer. The approach that the company plans to take for colon cancer will
be similar to that taken at this stage of its successful NMP66 breast cancer- testing program. Samples
will be tested from patients at different stages of colon cancer, in addition to those with benign
conditions such as colorectal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease.
Detection of these colon cancer markers in blood was accomplished using a novel approach for
cancer marker detection, mass spectrometry, a technique which the Company believes is immediately
applicable to other cancer tests it is developing, including prostate cancer. Mass spectrometry
techniques for detecting the elevation of specific proteins in blood is expected to improve the
accuracy of the tests in development by Matritech as well as expedite the introduction of these
second generation, blood-based cancer diagnostic tests in clinical laboratories worldwide.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), colon cancer is the third most common type of
cancer. The ACS estimates that there will be approximately 130,200 cases of colon cancer in 2000,
resulting in 56,300 deaths.
Matritech's nuclear matrix protein (NMP) core technology correlates levels of NMPs in body fluids
to the presence of cancer. Multiple published clinical studies have validated this ability of NMPs to
detect early-stage cancer. Matritech has a deep pipeline of NMP-based products in pre-clinical and
clinical development for the detection of major cancers including bladder, cervical, breast, colon and
prostate cancers. The NMP22 Test Kit is cleared for marketing in the United States for management
and screening of individuals at risk of bladder cancer. It is also sold in Europe and Japan, where it is
approved for bladder cancer screening.
Matritech, Inc. based in Newton Mass., is using its proprietary NMP technology, discovered at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and licensed exclusively to Matritech, to develop and
commercialize innovative serum-,cell- and urine based NMP diagnostic products.
Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
Any forward-looking statements related to the Company's expectations regarding the performance,
timing or extent of market acceptance, and regulatory approvals of the Company's blood-based
cancer tests are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the
Company's control. These include, but are not limited to, risks related to the Company's limited
capital resources, unforeseen delays in product development or denials of FDA and other regulatory
approvals, future product demand and pricing, competitive products and technical developments
and general business and economic conditions. There can be no assurances that the Company's
expectations for its products will be achieved.
SOURCE: Matritech, Inc. |
