New Studies Expand the Large Body of Data on the Important Role of an Arthritis Protein; 14-3-3eta Blood Test

VANCOUVER, Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Augurex Life Sciences Corp. announces a burgeoning body of data that further reveals the important role of a protein measured in blood, called 14-3-3eta, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ten studies will be presented at the world's premier rheumatology conference, the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting (ACR) in Boston, November 14-18 with the schedule in the table below.

This data builds on the recently published studies in two high-impact peer-reviewed journals co-authored by international leading rheumatologists describing the 14-3-3eta protein as a "mechanistic" biomarker that is involved in driving disease processes that lead to joint destruction. A simple blood test measures the levels of circulating 14-3-3eta protein which assists with early RA patient diagnosis and also informs the likelihood of aggressive disease. Early diagnosis and treatment are known to lead to better clinical outcomes of this otherwise debilitative disease.

Dr. Anthony Marotta, Augurex's Chief Scientific Officer says, "What we are seeing, consistently in the data, is that RA patients who have higher levels of the protein tend towards more joint damage progression over time. Alongside the specialist's clinical assessment, this provides "biological-level" information regarding the disease mechanism at play, to assist with ongoing patient management."

"This information is important to know," says Professor Yoshiya Tanaka, Professor & Chairman, of The First Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine University of Occupational & Environmental Health, Japan and the principal investigator of a study that will be presented as a late-breaking poster presentation at ACR. Professor Tanaka explains, "Rheumatoid arthritis is a multi-factorial disease and it has been published that 14-3-3eta upregulates several factors that perpetuate disease. Furthermore, there are many drugs to choose from for treatment, but response to therapy is heterogeneous and depends on the disease mechanisms at play in a particular patient."  Professor Tanaka adds, "Previous studies have shown that blood levels of 14-3-3eta change along the disease course and inform treatment response; the study that we'll present at ACR (Poster #L18) describes new findings in this area."

14-3-3eta-related blood tests measure different forms of the protein and their specific auto-antibodies. The first test within the 14-3-3eta family measures concentrations of the whole protein and is available in the US, is cleared for use in Europe (CE-marked) and is Health Canada approved as an RA diagnostic test.

List of 14-3-3 eta ACR 2014 conference proceedings to be presented at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

SOURCE Augurex Life Sciences Corp.

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