Vermillion, Inc. Kicks Off Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month by Ringing the NASDAQ Closing Bell with Olympic Gymnast Shannon Miller, and NASCAR Driver Martin Truex, Jr.'s Life Partner, Sherry Pollex

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML), a bio-analytical solutions company focused on gynecologic disease, brings its ASPiRA LABs' OVA1® awareness team members, Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Shannon Miller and the life partner of NASCAR Driver Martin Truex, Jr., Sherry Pollex, to ring the NASDAQ Closing Bell today.  Both women are ovarian cancer survivors and join Vermillion at NASDAQ to launch September, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

"Vermillion is working every day to tackle the women's health crisis that exists around the diagnosis of ovarian cancer," said Valerie Palmieri, President and CEO of Vermillion, Inc. "Ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ marketplace with our awareness team is another way to focus a spotlight on both this crisis and our solution -- OVA1 and Overa™.  Our proprietary technology is the only one available today capable of accurately assessing all ages, all stages and all cancer types of ovarian cancer!"

The OVA1 blood test is the first FDA approved diagnostic test to evaluate cancer risk in a pelvic mass helping doctors and women make the choice of the right specialist for the first pelvic mass surgery.  Doctors and patients must decide between a general minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon or a gynecologic oncologist for management of the pelvic mass based on risk.  With OVA1's high sensitivity, low risk women and their physicians can have "peace of mind" to stay with their OB/GYN for management.  It is well documented that women with high risk of cancer can improve their survival rate up to 40% by getting to a gynecologic oncologist for the first surgery.

"Our appearance on the NASDAQ stage today is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to women.  When I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, OVA1 was not available. I was very lucky to get to the right surgeon for my first surgery and today am so thankful to be 5 years cancer free.  I urge other women to Know Pelvic Mass—the signs, symptoms and proper care," said Olympic Gymnast Shannon Miller.

"Martin and I are proud to be saving lives with Vermillion.  We use every opportunity possible to educate women to Know Pelvic Mass and OVA1.  Being on the NASDAQ stage is another tremendous tool to raise awareness around ovarian cancer," said Sherry Pollex, life partner of NASCAR Driver Martin Truex, Jr. and stage 3c ovarian cancer survivor. 

Earlier this year, Vermillion launched the Know Pelvic Mass campaign featuring Shannon Miller, Martin Truex, Jr. and Sherry Pollex.  The campaign urges women to know the signs, symptoms and proper care of a pelvic mass. At the same time, the National Academy of Medicine report "Ovarian Cancers: Evolving Paradigms in Research and Care" is the latest major medical report to find that most women with ovarian cancer do not get proper care. Proper care for ovarian cancer includes getting to the right surgeon for the first pelvic mass surgery.  To date, OVA1 has helped over 87,000 patients determine their risk of ovarian cancer.    

The ceremony will begin at approximately 3:50pm EDT.  A livestream of the Nasdaq Closing Bell will be available at https://new.livestream.com/nasdaq/live or  http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx. 

Visit our website for more information about our products at http://www.aspiralab.com and http://www.knowpelvicmass.com.

About Vermillion

Vermillion, Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel high-value diagnostic and bio-analytical solutions that help physicians diagnose, treat and improve gynecologic health outcomes for women. Vermillion, along with its prestigious scientific collaborators, discovers, develops, and delivers innovative diagnostic and technology tools that help women with serious diseases.  The company's initial in vitro diagnostic test, OVA1®, was the first FDA-cleared, protein-based In Vitro Diagnostic Multivariate Index Assay, and represented a new class of software-based liquid biopsy in vitro diagnostics. In March 2016 Vermillion received FDA clearance for Overa™, a second generation OVA1 test with significantly improved specificity and ease of use. For additional information, including published clinical trials, visit www.vermillion.com.

About ASPiRA LABs, OVA1® and Overa™

• ASPiRA LABs is a wholly-owned, specialized women's health reference laboratory of Vermillion, Inc. Its vision is to be the global leader in personalized medical management of gynecologic health to improve clinical outcomes for patients, physicians and payers.
• OVA1 is a proprietary FDA-cleared blood test designed to help physicians assess the risk of ovarian cancer prior to surgery, facilitating more effective referral of high risk patients to a specialist (gynecologic oncologist) for surgical treatment.
• Overa, cleared by the FDA on March 18, 2016, measures the levels of five proteins found in the blood and then uses a second-generation algorithm, incorporated into the OvaCalc® software, to stratify risk. A woman's risk of cancer is measured by using a 0-10 scale with a single cut-off point of 5 eliminating the ambiguity in determining menopausal status. A high Overa score is not a diagnosis of cancer, rather it indicates an increased risk of malignancy when used as intended.

Media Contact:
Katie Leighton
Leighton PR
610-513-6930
[email protected]

Investor Relations Contact:
Michael Wood
LifeSci Advisors LLC
Tel 1-646-597-6983
[email protected]

SOURCE Vermillion, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vermillion.com