Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

ABT licenses prostate-cancer biomarkers from Stanford University:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/abbott-licenses-biomarkers-differentiating-aggressive-130000797.html

Abbott announced today it has acquired an exclusive license for several novel biomarkers from Stanford University for use in developing a molecular diagnostic test that could satisfy a longstanding unmet medical need: differentiating aggressive from nonaggressive prostate cancer.

Abbott will develop a molecular assay based on its proprietary FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) technology to detect rearrangements of the ERG and ETV1 genes and measure loss of the PTEN gene. A study published in the British Journal of Cancer evaluated 308 men diagnosed with prostate cancer who were treated conservatively. Those who did not show ERG/ETV1 genetic aberrations with no PTEN gene loss had excellent prognosis, evidenced by an 85 percent survival rate after 11 years. Men who showed PTEN gene loss in the absence of the gene rearrangements had a poor survival rate of 13.7 percent. The study showed the promise of the new biomarkers to identify patients who would benefit most from intensive therapies.