The Prostate Cancer Foundation and Exosome Diagnostics Collaborate to Accelerate Clinical Validation of Exosome Biofluid Molecular Diagnostics in Prostate Cancer

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and Exosome Diagnostics today are announcing a multi-year collaboration to accelerate clinical validation of Exosome's biofluid molecular diagnostics technology in prostate cancer.  In addition, Howard Soule, Ph.D., chief science officer of PCF, will join the Exosome Diagnostics Scientific Advisory Board.

The collaboration will explore the capabilities of a new generation of RNA biofluid diagnostics for early identification, progression monitoring and advanced disease risk stratification in prostate cancer.  The goal of the collaboration is to help physicians and patients better diagnose, monitor and treat prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the one of the most common malignancies occurring in men in the U.S. according to the American Cancer Society.  The tumor is generally slow-growing offering many opportunities for therapeutic intervention, if needed.  Unfortunately, diagnostic tools available today are limited in utility and often result in unnecessary invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The collaboration will bring together world leading clinicians, researchers and industry participants to explore and develop the full potential of stable, high quality disease-specific RNA harvested from exosomes found in blood and urine samples. The collaboration will support near-term in-vitro diagnostic validation of known clinical prostate cancer biomarkers as well as a robust biomarker discovery program for prostate cancer from diagnosis through progression and treatment.

"We are pleased to support this collaboration between PCF and Exosome Diagnostics," said Dr. Soule. "Better management of prostate cancer patients requires improved diagnostic methods.  We believe that exosome technology may represent an opportunity to improve patient outcomes through more specific diagnosis than is currently available with the standard PSA test. We are pleased to support this collaboration which we believe may contribute to significantly improved diagnosis, therapy management and a reduction in patient suffering from prostate cancer. Exosome technology may also help address growing concerns about over diagnosis and overtreatment."  

James McCullough, chief executive officer of Exosome Diagnostics added, "Our collaboration with the Prostate Cancer Foundation represents one of the most efficient and constructive ways to bring all the constituents together around a new personalized medicine technology.  This progressive collaboration assures that we have the right people at the table on the front side of the clinical translation process to accurately assess unmet medical opportunities, properly design validation studies and deliver exosome technology benefits quickly to patients."

In August, PCF and Exosome Diagnostics hosted the first in a series of meetings with leading investigators to discuss the state of prostate cancer diagnostic and therapeutic options, exosome technology applications, performance requirements and barriers to clinical validation. Participating in the meeting, held in New York City, were senior principal investigators from leading academic institutions including Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, MD Anderson, University of Michigan Health System, Weill Cornell Hospital and Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  

About Prostate Cancer Foundation

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world's leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised nearly $475 million and provided funding to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions in 12 countries. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds supporting transformational cancer research. Our efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. More information about PCF can be found at www.pcf.org.

About Exosome Diagnostics

Exosome Diagnostics is a leading developer of biofluid based molecular diagnostic tests for use in personalized medicine. Exosomes are shed into all biofluids, including blood, urine, and CSF, forming a stable source of intact, disease-specific nucleic acids. The Company's proprietary exosome technology makes use of this natural stability to achieve high sensitivity for rare gene transcripts and the expression of genes responsible for cancers and other diseases. The Company is commercializing in-vitro diagnostic tests for use in companion diagnostic applications and real-time monitoring of disease. The Company maintains facilities in New York, St. Paul, MN and Munich, Germany. For more information, please visit www.exosomedx.com.

SOURCE Exosome Diagnostics