GenoMed Finds Thousands of Cancer-Associated Genotypes
Contact: David Moskowitz MD tel. 314-983-9933 GenoMed, Inc.
ST. LOUIS, March 3, 2005 -- GenoMed, Inc. (Pink Sheets GMED) a Next Generation Disease Management company, said today that it has found thousands of cancer-associated genotypes. When placed on GenoMed's HealthChip (tm), these genotypes will have the potential to serve as an early warning system for the top six common cancers: breast, colon, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate. Many of the genes involved are expected to be good drug targets for cancer treatment.
These data were obtained in collaboration with Genome Quebec and represent two-thirds of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GenoMed's SNPnet(tm): the "net" of SNPs which GenoMed uses to "fish" for disease genes. GenoMed's SNPnet(tm) contains 30,000 SNPs. Of the 22,000 SNPs that Genome Quebec has screened so far, about half--a little over 10,000--turned out to have at least a mild association with at least one of the six common cancers above. Nearly 1,500 SNPs had a very strong association with at least one cancer. Three genes had a very strong association with all six cancers and could be excellent drug targets for chemotherapy.
Data from another batch of 8,000 SNPs is pending.
"Our data are as rich as we could have possibly imagined. Our SNPnet(tm) was well constructed. It will take more time to fully mine all our data. But right off the top, it looks like common diseases are the result of thousands of interacting alleles, not just dozens. Common diseases have very little in common with the single-gene Mendelian diseases that have been discovered so far," said Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's chairman and chief executive officer. "What's exciting is that we may already have enough data to solve the top six cancers--i.e. to be able to predict who will get which cancer, and to suggest more effective treatment for each cancer."
"While it is too soon to predict what impact the identification of these and other genes may have in terms of revenues and earnings, a 1999 article in The Wall Street Journal cited Daniel Cohen as estimating the value of a single disease-linked gene at $40-80 million," Moskowitz added.
About GenoMed
GenoMed is leading the clinical revolution which knowledge of disease genes has already begun. GenoMed is currently marketing its protocols to prevent kidney failure due to high blood pressure and diabetes, and to delay the progression of emphysema. The company also conducts basic research to find genes that cause different diseases and clinical research to test protocols that look promising for improving patient outcomes.
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