bioTheranostics Announces Commercial Agreement with Ferrer inCode to Market THEROS CancerTYPE ID(R) Molecular Cancer Classifier in Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Venezuela

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- bioTheranostics, a bioMerieux company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative molecular diagnostic tests in oncology, announced that the company has signed a three-year, exclusive agreement with Ferrer inCode to commercialize the bioTheranostics THEROS CancerTYPE ID® molecular cancer classifier in Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Venezuela. The agreement is effective immediately.

Under the terms of the agreement, Spain-based Ferrer inCode will market the THEROS CancerTYPE ID (CTID) molecular assay, while bioTheranostics will perform all sample testing in their CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory in San Diego, California.

"The agreement with Ferrer inCode is a further demonstration of our commitment to make the THEROS CancerTYPE ID assay available to oncology professionals and patients worldwide through partnerships with leading, established diagnostic companies," said Richard Ding, bioTheranostics chief executive officer. "As with Lab21, our partner in the United Kingdom and Ireland since September of last year, we are confident that Ferrer inCode will provide the highest level of service to professionals and patients in the designated countries."

The CTID assay is a 92-gene molecular cancer classifier. It is particularly useful for oncologists and pathologists managing metastatic cancer patients whose primary tumor site (e.g., breast, lung, pancreas) is either "uncertain" or "unknown" following assessment with conventional diagnostics. The results of the CTID assay can guide physicians in selecting optimal therapies for these individuals and potentially improve treatment outcomes. Approximately three to five percent of cancers diagnosed worldwide each year are classified as "cancers of unknown primary origin" (aka CUP), and far more patients struggle with a differential diagnosis (i.e., two or more diagnostic options, each of which may lead to a different treatment path).

"We are thrilled that we can now offer the THEROS CancerTYPE ID assay to physicians in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Venezuela," said Alfredo Gracia, Ferrer inCode chief scientific officer. "As front runners in the field of personalized medicine, we have been asked by physicians to address one of their most significant unmet needs, which is the identification of the origin of tumors that are diagnosed via metastases or complications, in order to offer an appropriate therapeutic option to their patients. THEROS Cancer TYPE ID and bioTheranostics' capabilities give us an outstanding opportunity to broaden the scope of Ferrer inCode's services to the medical community."

About bioTheranostics

bioTheranostics discovers, develops and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests for cancer patients. Leveraging its unique expertise in genomic profiling and proprietary algorithms, bioTheranostics provides innovative tests to the oncology community that help drive personalized treatment. The company operates a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited diagnostic service laboratory in San Diego, California to perform its proprietary molecular diagnostic tests: THEROS CancerTYPE ID®, a molecular cancer classifier particularly helpful for patients diagnosed with metastatic cancer whose tumor origin is either as uncertain or unknown, or patients with their cancer origin not confirmable through conventional diagnostics; and the THEROS Breast Cancer Index®, which refines and improves risk stratification in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, lymph-node negative breast cancer. More information is available at www.biotheranostics.com.

About bioMerieux

Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 45 years, bioMerieux is present in 150 countries through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2008, revenues reached euro 1.111 billion with 84% of sales outside of France.

bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) that determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cancer screening and monitoring and cardiovascular emergencies. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agro-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. bioMerieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market (Code: BIM - Code ISIN: FR0010096479). Other information can be found at www.biomerieux.com.

About Ferrer inCode and Grupo Ferrer Internacional

Ferrer inCode is the biotech subsidiary of Grupo Ferrer Internacional, working specifically in the field of personalized medicine as a provider of diagnostic orientation, prognosis and prediction services based chiefly on genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics. The vision of Ferrer inCode is to help doctors make the most accurate clinical decisions for every patient through advanced biotechnological services. Grupo Ferrer Internacional is a privately held European R&D-based pharmaco-chemical and medical device company headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. Ferrer operates today in over 60 countries with the overall aim of improving people's health and quality of life. Based on its policy of continuous expansion throughout the world, Ferrer has established strong industrial and commercial operations in Europe and has extensive commercial experience in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Far East. For more information on Ferrer, visit www.ferrergrupo.com or www.ferrerincode.com.

    Contacts
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    For bioTheranostics:

    Wendy Johnson
    Tel: 1 858 587 5887
    [email protected]

    Michele Parisi
    Tel: 1 925 864 5028
    [email protected]

    For bioMerieux:

    Koren Wolman-Tardy
    Tel: + 011 33 6 13 94 51 14
    [email protected]

    For Ferrer inCode:

    Olga Fidalgo
    [email protected]

SOURCE bioTheranostics