Utilizing Psynova’s schizophrenia biomarker portfolio and RBM’s DiscoveryMAP™ technology
AUSTIN, TX (December 2, 2009) — Rules-Based Medicine, Inc. (RBM) today announced that Psynova Neurotech Limited (Cambridge UK), a majority-owned subsidiary of RBM, has executed an exclusive research and licensing agreement with Roche to collaborate on the discovery, development, validation and commercialization of diagnostic immunoassays to aid the clinical development and commercial differentiation of novel treatments for schizophrenia.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will contract Psynova to identify candidate serum protein biomarkers that have utility in prognosis of disease progression and predicting or monitoring the efficacy and safety of a compound from Roche’s central nervous system (CNS) pipeline. Psynova will utilize its proprietary schizophrenia biomarker panels, its extensive CNS disease database and its access to RBM’s DiscoveryMAP™ technology to identify a specific biomarker signature that could serve as a companion diagnostic. Any resulting companion diagnostic will be developed either by Psynova and RBM (as the preferred developer for the companion diagnostic in partnership with Roche), or independently by Roche, which would result in milestone and royalty payments to Psynova.
“We are excited to enter into this partnership with Roche,” said Dr. Sabine Bahn, chief scientific officer and founder of Psynova. “This alliance is part of an ongoing strategy to leverage the value of our biomarker portfolio in both the development of novel diagnostic aids for physicians and the accelerated development and delivery of novel therapeutics for patients.”
About Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a complex, seriously debilitating psychiatric disorder affecting approximately 4 million people in the EU and 2.4 million people in the United States. Each year as many as 2 million new patients in the EU and 1.3 million in the United States are estimated to present with early signs of psychosis. While most of these patients do not have schizophrenia, the medical evaluation is time consuming and expensive, due to its subjective nature. Symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, movement disorders, flat affect, social withdrawal, and cognitive deficits, and are often undistinguishable from those of other
mental health or central nervous system illnesses. Available treatments can relieve many symptoms of schizophrenia and allow people to live independent lives. Biomarkers have the potential to facilitate identification of patients that will benefit from specific treatments and monitor their responses during treatment.
About Rules-Based Medicine, Inc.
Rules-Based Medicine, Inc. (RBM) is a CLIA-certified biomarker testing laboratory that solves complex therapeutic development, diagnostic and treatment challenges with innovative products and services. The Company’s proprietary multi-analyte profiling (MAP) platform makes the drug discovery and development process more efficient and effective by providing pre-clinical and clinical researchers with reproducible, quantitative, multiplexed immunoassay
data for hundreds of proteins from small sample volumes. Building on the MAP platform, RBM has developed a host of solutions including: (i) a self-contained whole-blood culture system that brings reproducibility and simplicity to ex vivo immune response measurement, (ii) novel and companion diagnostic tests for complex diseases and therapies, (iii) therapeutic-specific MAPs custom designed for late-stage clinical development, and (iv) new assays for the early detection of renal damage. Additional information on RBM is available via the worldwide web at www.rulesbasedmedicine.com.
About Psynova Neurotech Ltd.
Psynova Neurotech Limited was established in 2005 by Dr. Sabine Bahn, M.D., Ph.D., MRCPsych, and Professor Chris Lowe, Ph.D. of the University of Cambridge, to build on 12 years of groundbreaking research by Dr. Bahn in identifying novel biomarkers for neuropsychiatric illnesses. Psynova Neurotech, together with the Bahn laboratory and Rules Based Medicine, Inc., recently announced the discovery and characterization of a combination of protein biomarkers that demonstrate utility as an adjunctive aid in the differential diagnosis of schizophrenia. As a result of this clinical milestone, RBM made an additional investment in
Psynova resulting in Psynova becoming a majority-owned subsidiary of RBM. Psynova and RBM are developing several products in related therapeutic areas and are also actively exploring the potential of these biomarker panels as companion diagnostics and therapy monitoring tools. Additional information on Psynova Neurotech is available via the worldwide web at www.psynova.com.