Oncology diagnostics company BioMarCare Technologies Ltd. will receive a $900,000 grant from Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F) for a joint project with US company Ariadne Diagnostics LLC, to develop a panel of biomarkers to predict the response or lack of response of colon cancer patients to treatments based on EGF-receptor inhibitors, such as Erbitox.
BioMarCare will expand its test, which is currently undergoing a clinical trial at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. When development is complete, Ariadne Diagnostics will conduct a comprehensive clinical trial for obtaining US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for marketing the product in the US. BioMarCare will keep marketing rights in Europe.
BioMarCare is owned by Hadasit - the Technology Transfer Company of Hadassah Medical Organization subsidiary Hadasit Bio Holdings Ltd. (TASE:HDST) and Bio-Light Israeli Life Sciences Investments Ltd. (TASE:BOLT) diagnostics cluster Micromedic Technologies Ltd. (TASE:MCTC). Hadasit Bio and Micromedic will invest $1 million in the company, with an option to invest another $1 million.
BioMarCare CEO Dana Cohen said, "The tests will make it possible to predict the failure of current critical drug treatments for extending patients' life expectancy and quality of life, which have proven economic value. Biologic drugs for the treatment of colon cancer are very expensive and many patients do not respond to them. With the help of a panel of protein biomarkers, it will be possible to predict patients' response and enable personalized treatments, while bringing forward treatment and saving costly time from treating patients who will not respond, and using alternative therapies."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 8, 2012
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