Matritech Announces Completion of Preclinical Trial for New
Cervical Cancer Test
Study Represents Major Milestone in Development and Marketing Agreement with
Bayer Corporation
NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Matritech, Inc., (Nasdaq: NMPS)announced today that it has completed its pre-clinical evaluation of an antibody which may lead to the development of more accurate and cost-effective Pap Smear products.
The preclinical evaluation is the fifth of five Matritech milestones in the development and marketing agreement with Bayer Corporation to advance the Company's technology toward the commercialization of an
automated cervical cancer test.
"We believe that this research, conducted under our agreement with Bayer,highlights the feasibility of NMP-based cervical cancer products and completesanother Matritech goal for 1997," said David L. Corbet, President of Matritech.
"The Company has made significant progress in 1997 in advancing
our nuclear-matrix protein technology to develop multiple tests for major cancers."
In pre-clinical evaluation, Matritech's scientists demonstrated that the antibody strongly reacts with a nuclear matrix protein (NMP 179) found in cervical carcinoma, definitively staining both malignant and pre-malignant cervical cancer cells. Initial findings were submitted as an abstract to the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology by Dr. Ellen Sheets, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and collaborator in the study.
Under the terms of Matritech's development and marketing agreement with Bayer Corporation, Bayer has an option on rights to an automated Pap Smear format to detect malignant and pre-malignant cervical cancer cells using Matritech-supplied NMP 179 antibody. Matritech retains rights for developing manual NMP 179 cervical cancer tests.
Matritech's first product, the NMP22(R) Test Kit for bladder cancer, was approved for sale in the United States in 1996. The Company's second product, the NuMA(TM) Test Kit for colon cancer, was submitted to the FDA for clearance to market.
Matritech scientists have recently reported preliminary testing
results comparing the level of an NMP in blood specimens from breast cancer patients to levels found in blood of normal individuals. Matritech is focusing research efforts on the development of a breast cancer diagnostic test using this technology.
Matritech scientists and other investigators have reported the utility of nuclear matrix proteins (NMPs) as markers for a number of major cancers, including bladder, colon, cervical, breast and prostate.
The Company has exclusive rights to ten patents covering NMP technology through both direct application and licensing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has eight additional patents pending.
Matritech, Inc., based in Newton, Mass., is using its proprietary nuclear (NMP) technology, discovered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 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 bladder, colon,cervical, breast, and prostate cancers.
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, potential fluctuations in the Company's sales due to the timing of customer orders and other market conditions beyond the Company's control, and risks related to the Company's ability to: successfully develop, test, produce, and market its products; obtain necessary government approvals in a timely manner; attract and keep key employees; raise capital for future operations and growth; and successfully respond to technological changes in
the marketplace. Additional information on potential factors which could affect the Company's financial results are included in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Matritech, Inc.
CONTACT: Stephen D. Chubb, CEO, or David L. Corbet, President,
Matritech, Inc., 617-928-0820, or Derek Caldwell of Sunrise
Financial Group, 212-421-1616 or Robert Gottlieb, or Gretchen L.
P. Schweitzer of Feistein Kean Partners, 617-577-8110 |
