Mount Sinai and Exosome Diagnostics Partner to Accelerate Translation of Body Fluid Molecular Diagnostics to Overcome Limitations of Tissue Biopsy in Areas of Critical Unmet Medical Needs

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Exosome Diagnostics today announced a collaboration on the research and development of real-time nucleic acid-based body-fluid diagnostics to advance personalized medicine. Exosome will provide technical and development support to Mount Sinai researchers along with early access to proprietary technology products upgrades.  The agreement will allow Exosome and Mount Sinai to establish targeted research and biomarker discovery programs in oncology, inflammation and other disease areas.  Exosome anticipates pursuing commercial development and FDA review of successful validations for in vitro diagnostics.  

"This collaboration represents the model that research centers and private companies need to adopt in the post-recession, sequestered economy to develop diagnostic products that can improve clinical outcomes, help advance drug development programs and help lower healthcare costs," said James McCullough, Chief Executive Officer of Exosome Diagnostics. "New York State has taken an aggressive and appropriate approach to promoting cooperation of its leading research centers, such as Mount Sinai, with private industry resources and commercial capability to drive translational medicine.  Mount Sinai and Exosome together can accelerate cutting-edge diagnostic products to serve the clinical market."

Carlos Cordon-Cardo, MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, added, "As we advance our precise medicine program in the Departments of Pathology and Genomics at Mount Sinai, biofluid-based, point-in-time analyses, made possible by the Exosome Diagnostics-Mount Sinai relationship, will undoubtedly lead to an improved, patient-centric understanding of disease, thereby guiding more informed treatment decisions and response to therapy."

The agreement was negotiated by Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (Mount Sinai IP), which encourages the commercialization of novel research conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  Mount Sinai plans to leverage the considerable expertise of its clinical investigators in areas of key unmet medical needs to develop clinical study programs taking advantage of Exosome's unique technology that has the ability to extract high-quality RNA from blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid.

Under the agreement, Mount Sinai will retain rights to molecular biomarkers associated with disease progression and drug response, and Exosome will retain commercial development rights for molecular in vitro diagnostic products. The collaboration will extend for five years. Dr. Cordon-Cardo receives financial compensation from Exosome Diagnostics as a member of its scientific advisory board.

About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners
Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (Mount Sinai IP), as part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, facilitates the transfer of discovery from the laboratory to the marketplace, acting as the interface with commercial entities.

Formerly known as the Office of Technology and Business Development, Mount Sinai IP is responsible for the full spectrum of commercialization activities required to bring the Icahn School of Medicine's inventions to life. These activities include evaluating, patenting, marketing, and licensing new technologies, while also negotiating agreements for sponsored research, material transfer, and confidentiality. Blue Mountain Technologies is an IP program to enhance distribution of, and product development based on, Mount Sinai's growing portfolio of novel reagents, diagnostics, and therapeutics. For more information on Mount Sinai IP, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/innovation.

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center
The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses both The Mount Sinai Hospital and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Established in 1968, the Icahn School of Medicine is one of the leading medical schools in the United States, and is noted for innovation in education, biomedical research, clinical care delivery, and local and global community service. It has more than 3,400 faculty in 32 departments and 14 research institutes, and ranks among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and by U.S. News & World Report.

The Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is a 1,171-bed tertiary- and quaternary-care teaching facility and one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Mount Sinai Hospital 14th on its elite Honor Roll of the nation's top hospitals based on reputation, safety, and other patient-care factors. 

For more information, visit Mount Sinai on the web, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.  

About Exosome Diagnostics
Exosome Diagnostics is a leading developer of biofluid-based molecular diagnostic tests for use in personalized medicine. Exosomes are packaged and shed into all biofluids, including blood, urine and CSF, providing a stable source for intact, cell-specific nucleic acids. The Company's proprietary exosome technology makes use of the presence and natural stability of RNA in exosomes to detect and measure levels of genes responsible for cancer and other diseases. The Company is commercializing in vitro diagnostic tests for use in companion diagnostic applications and real-time monitoring of disease. For more information, please visit www.exosomedx.com.

SOURCE Exosome Diagnostics

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