Med BioGene and Duke University Collaborate on Lymphoma and Leukemia

Med BioGene, Inc., (MBI; Vancouver, Canada), a biotechnology company developing genetic biomarkers to improve screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment decisions for patients suffering from certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, has entered into a research collaboration and option agreement with Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) to further develop and validate MBI's genetic biomarkers for lymphoma and leukemia using its Gene Expression Profiling system.

The collaboration between MBI and Duke includes, among other things, the following terms: Duke will provide to MBI a certain number of samples from patients with clinically confirmed lymphoma and leukemia for genetic analysis by MBI using its Gene Expression Profiling system; MBI and Duke will collaborate on the further analysis of those results; Duke grants to MBI an option to acquire exclusive world-wide licensing rights to the intellectual property developed by Duke under the collaboration; MBI will pay to Duke certain royalties on revenue received from the commercialization of the intellectual property developed under the collaboration; Duke will be entitled to publish the results of the collaboration, subject to review and comment by MBI; and MBI will reimburse Duke for certain expenditures incurred under the collaboration. Initiation of the research to be conducted under the collaboration is subject to receipt by the parties of all relevant institutional review board approvals.

"We are very pleased and enthusiastic about collaborating with Duke University, one of the world's most prestigious academic institutions,” said Erinn Broshko, CEO of MBI. "This collaboration further demonstrates Med BioGene's focus and commitment to rapidly develop a novel tool using microarray analysis for disease diagnosis and prognosis, and therapeutic development. We expect our Gene Expression Profiling system to be more accurate, faster, and more cost effective than current methods of diagnosing lymphoma and leukemia. Furthermore, the development of these biomarkers is the first step towards personalized medicine and is intended to replace the conventional ‘one drug fits all' approach to disease management.”

"In diagnosing and treating lymphoma and leukemia, there is a need for technologies that can provide maximum insight into gene regulation and gene alterations on the transcriptional level. Microarray analysis used to perform gene expression profiling may be the method of choice in this regard because it allows simultaneous detection of the expression of nearly all human genes in one experimental approach,” noted Dr. David Rizzieri, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Duke University Medical Center. "Med BioGene's technology may have applications in clinical research, disease diagnosis, treatment, and drug development. Our investigators are eager to begin the collaboration.”



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