Transgenomic, Inc. (OTCBB: TBIO) today announced it has been
awarded a $100,000 Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR)
Phase I Grant by the National Institutes of Health's National Center For
Advancing Translational Sciences. This grant, entitled "Early Detection
of Pancreatic Cancer Using ICE COLD-PCR", is a joint project with Tony
Hollingsworth, Ph.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center, who heads a
leading research team studying pancreatic cancer and other diseases of
the pancreas, such as pancreatitis.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose at an early stage. In the
disease's late stage response to therapy is poor with an average
survival of six months after diagnosis and a five-year survival rate of
less than 4 percent. This project aims to develop a highly sensitive
genetic test that can detect pancreatic cancer biomarkers in blood or
urine, enabling much earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment.
With Dr. Hollingsworth's team, Transgenomic will test the application of
its proprietary ICE COLD-PCR technology to the high sensitivity
detection of key mutations in pancreatic cancer in pancreas, urine and
blood.
If promising results are obtained from these Phase I studies, a Phase II
STTR application will be submitted to include more comprehensive studies
of ICE COLD-PCR detection of DNA mutations associated with early and
late stage pancreatic cancer in humans. This could ultimately lead to a
simple, highly sensitive diagnostic assay for the early detection of
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
"This successful peer-reviewed grant award reinforces the promise of our
ICE COLD-PCR technology in being able to deliver high-sensitivity
genetic information to support the treatment of oncology patients, such
as those suffering from pancreatic cancer," said Craig Tuttle, Chief
Executive Officer of Transgenomic. "Both the financial support of the
NIH and working with prominent cancer research groups, such as Dr.
Hollingsworth and his team, will accelerate the development of our
high-sensitivity cancer diagnostic assays."
"This grant funds research that builds upon our ongoing collaboration
with Transgenomic, which is also facilitated by our active participation
in the Early Detection Research Network of the National Cancer
Institute," said Dr. Hollingsworth. "This research project is an
excellent example of how an academic-industrial collaboration can
rapidly determine the potential utility of a promising diagnostic or
prognostic assay for one of the most insidious diseases - pancreatic
cancer. It is highly commendable that Transgenomic, a small business, is
willing to attack the difficult problem of diagnosing pancreatic cancer."
How different types of bread impact cancer risk