MabCure featured in the August edition of Biotechnology Focus magazine

Aug 31 2009

MabCure, Inc. (OTCBB:MBCI) (“MabCure”), a biotechnology company using its proprietary technology to create highly specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for the early detection of cancer, has been featured in the August edition of Biotechnology Focus, Canada's oldest and most successful magazine serving the Canadian life science industry.

The piece titled “Tumour-Specific Markers: The Holy Grail of Cancer Diagnostics” illustrates the advantage of MabCure’s pipeline of cancer specific antibodies compared to some current cancer diagnostics such as prostate-specific antigens (PSA) for prostate cancer, CA-125 for ovarian malignancies, which suffer from a lack of specificity and sensitivity.

MabCure’s monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), on the other hand, are being developed against difficult-to-pinpoint tumour specific antigens. In the article Amnon Gonenne, PhD, CEO of MabCure, explains that while more than 90% of cancers are curable if caught early, the challenge of early detection lies in the lack of clearly identified disease markers.

In the article Dr. Gonenne states that MabCure “has validated its MAb-generating technology through two proof-of-concept studies. In the first test an anti-melanoma MAb generated from a library of more than 6,000 hybridomas correctly identified all tested tissue specimen of skin melanoma and ocular melanoma. In a second study MabCure’s Mab against ovarian cancer correctly identified disease in blood samples of 13 out of 13 patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Six of these patients, who had recently completed their first course of chemotherapy, were deemed to be in remission by imaging and by CA-125 testing, but our test indicated they still had active disease. This fact was, unfortunately, borne out by relapses in these patients.”

In the commentary, Dr. Gonenne discusses the weakness of existing diagnostics, “Since PSA is not specific to prostate malignancy, diagnosis of prostate cancer based on rising PSA levels results in a high rate of false positives – up to 75 per cent according to some studies.” Dr. Gonenne provides analogous details regarding CA-125, which he explains is not a true tumour marker and is therefore not useful for diagnosing ovarian cancer.

“We are delighted to receive coverage of this caliber in a publication as prestigious as Biotechnology Focus,” says Dr. Gonenne. “Current cancer exams have deficiencies and media stories such as this afford us the opportunity to further explain Mabcure's research and our on going development of MAb's to the scientific community, investors, and the public-at-large.”

The complete story can be accessed online at: http://www.bioscienceworld.ca/TumourSpecific%20MarkersTheHolyGrailofCancerDiagnostics

http://www.mabcure.com/