bizjournals.com
Abbott to market prostate cancer screen developed by Phila. firm
Monday March 12, 10:35 am ET
MacroArray Technologies said Monday that Abbott Laboratories will market a new test MacroArray has developed for prostate cancer.
MacroArray said its test "may offer advantages over" the widely used prostate-specific antigen tests, which, when they register a high level, do not necessarily mean cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, 70 percent to 75 percent of men who have biopsies after PSA tests test negative for prostate cancer.
In blinded studies of 533 patients, the company said, 21 percent of patients who tested positive under the MacroArray test did not have prostate cancer.
MacroArray of Philadelphia said its PCADM-1 urine test looks for a gene that is "over-expressed only in malignant prostate tissue."
The PCADM-1 gene was discovered by researchers at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, the company said.
Michael J. Wassil, the CEO of the privately held company, said prostate cancer screening is a $1 billion a year industry worldwide. Wassil expects his company's test to be used side-by-side with PSA testing at first, for verification purposes.
He declined to provide financial details on the deal with Abbott, which will adapt the test to its own equipment and market it.
Wassil said the deal with Abbott (NYSE:ABT - News) of Abbott Park, Ill., is nonexclusive and MacroArray could strike agreements with other firms.
Published March 12, 2007 by the Philadelphia Business Journal
