Abviva Announces Patent Issuance For Core Technology Used In Mammastatin Serum Assay Diagnostic Test For Breast Cancer

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Breast Cancer;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 25 Feb 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Abviva, Inc. (Abviva) (OTCBB:AVVA), a biomedical company engaged in the innovation, development and commercialization of breast cancer diagnostic and therapeutic applications of Mammastatin, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a pivotal patent on the core technology used in the Company's breast cancer diagnostic test, the Mammastatin Serum Assay (MSA). The patent, titled METHODS AND COMPOSITION FOR DIAGNOSING BREAST CANCER is the most recent of the patents in the Mammastatin IP portfolio to issue to the University of Michigan for breast cancer diagnostic and breast cancer therapeutic uses. "Abviva is the exclusive licensee of the diagnostic uses for Mammastatin in the patent portfolio owned by the University of Michigan and licensed to Abviva," said Doug Lane, president and chief executive of the company. "Abviva has the exclusive option to license the therapeutic uses of Mammastatin from the University of Michigan to develop one or more breast cancer therapeutic drugs."

The Mammastatin Serum Assay was developed from the Mammastatin technology discovered by scientists at the University of Michigan Cancer Center and originally published in the journal Science. This new patent signifies the increased importance of the Mammastatin Serum Assay for early breast cancer detection and further strengthens the intellectual property protection of the test.

The MSA is developed as a simple blood test that identifies and measures the amount of Mammastatin in women. The MSA is a risk-assessment tool intended to be used by physicians, clinics and hospitals to aid in the early detection of breast cancer and as a broad population based early breast cancer screening test. The MSA was previously studied on women with and without breast cancer and produced striking results. In the original studies 98% of the women who reported never being diagnosed with breast cancer or treated for breast cancer had normal or elevated levels of Mammastatin, as measured by the MSA. More importantly, 74% of the women in the studies who reported being diagnosed with breast cancer or being treated for breast cancer had no detectable levels of Mammastatin present or very low levels. These findings correlated with the original research conducted at the University of Michigan Cancer Center that demonstrated Mammastatin was normally produced by breast epithelial cells in healthy women and was missing or reduced in transformed breast epithelial cells.

Lane said Abviva intends to offer early access to the Mammastatin Serum Assay to women and their physicians, clinics and hospitals later this year.

About Abviva

Abviva, Inc. is a biomedical company engaged in the innovation, development and commercialization of breast cancer diagnostic and therapeutic applications of Mammastatin, a previously unknown secreted growth inhibitory protein discovered at the University of Michigan Cancer Center that demonstrated anti-breast cancer properties. The discovery was developed into a simple breast cancer blood test that demonstrated healthy women have high or normal levels of the protein and women with breast cancer have no detectable levels of the protein or very low levels. Abviva intends to commercialize the Mammastatin Serum Assay and offer the test as a research test provided through its wholly owned subsidiary reference laboratory, Biomedical Diagnostics. Abviva also intends to develop a breast cancer therapy that previous demonstrated marked improvement of breast cancer in palliative Stage IV breast cancer patients that were treated with an early form of the protein therapy under Compassionate Use.

http://www.breastcancerdiagnostic.com

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical facts are "forward-looking" statements (identified by the words "believe", "estimate", "project", "expect" or similar expressions) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes in the regulatory environment, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information currently known to management, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

http://www.abviva.com