>>Ciphergen Announces Second Development Program With Quest Diagnostics
Wednesday January 3, 9:00 am ET
Peripheral Artery Disease Diagnostic to be Jointly Developed
FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CIPH - News) today announced that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX - News) has accepted the second development plan from Ciphergen under their existing strategic alliance agreement. In addition to the current ovarian tumor triage test, Quest Diagnostics will now also assist Ciphergen in the development of a blood-based assay for the detection of peripheral artery disease (PAD).
"We are pleased that Quest Diagnostics has chosen the development of this PAD diagnostic test as the second of three programs that we will jointly develop," said Gail S. Page, President and CEO of Ciphergen. "The first program under our strategic alliance, an ovarian tumor triage test, is making excellent progress."
Ciphergen is working with Stanford University to develop a blood test that will help physicians in the diagnosis of PAD. Similar to cardiovascular disease, PAD is caused by the buildup of fat and cholesterol, known as plaque, in the peripheral arteries and disrupts normal bloodflow leading to stenosis, an embolism or thrombus formation. Peripheral artery disease affects 8 to 12 million Americans. Research has shown that nearly 75 percent of people with PAD do not experience symptoms. Proper diagnosis and early treatment can significantly improve the prognosis for patients with this debilitating disease.<<
snip
"The first program under our strategic alliance, an ovarian tumor triage test, is making excellent progress." Guffaw! Glaciers progress faster. Now over a year behind CIPH's revised schedule. No comment whatsoever from Quest on this or the ovarian test. The stock is up 12% or so, but it's been beaten up a bit of late, so that's not much help.
Cheers, Tuck |
