DiaTech Holdings Licenses CEER® Oncology Platform from Prometheus Laboratories
Nashville, Tennessee (PRWEB) September 20, 2016 -- DiaTech Holdings, Inc., the premier developer of life science technologies providing treatment directing data to aid physicians in selecting the most appropriate therapy for their patients with cancer today, announced that it has licensed the CEER® Oncology platform from Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) company. The unique CEER immuno-proximity assay configuration delivers industry leading analytical sensitivity and specificity in the identification of potential tumor driver(s) based on a functional proteomic approach, to help guide the selection of the most effective targeted therapy for cancer patients.
The addition of the CEER platform to DiaTech Holdings’ current MiCK® Assay, a functional drug response profiling assay, will provide an unprecedented level of patient-centric data on the effectiveness of chemotherapy and targeted therapy treatments, enhancing clinical treatment decision-making and drug development. The company’s strategy is to initiate tumor specific, prospective, randomized, well controlled clinical studies to support regulatory approval of these platforms by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In conjunction with the CEER platform, DiaTech is also announcing that the company will be changing its name to Pierian Biosciences, with offices in Franklin, Tenn., and San Diego, Calif. The name change is effective today, September 20, 2016. In Greek mythology, the Pierian Spring was considered the metaphorical source of knowledge of art and science, and it was believed that drinking from it would deliver tremendous knowledge and inspiration. Moving forward, the company’s intention is to be a source of the broad and deep knowledge necessary to change the cancer treatment experience for providers and patients.
“As oncology moves towards a rationalized treatment approach, our goal is to provide patient-specific data to help care teams select the most effective treatment regimens,” says Robert E. Henry, president and chief executive officer of Pierian Biosciences. “In light of value-based care, there is a sense of urgency to provide physicians with more biologically relevant tumor profiling to optimize care for their patients. Combined, MiCK and CEER offer expansive actionable information on cancer treatment effectiveness.” According to Henry, “We will provide clarity to oncologists in terms of actionable, treatment directing data to support better outcomes and lower costs”.
“We are delighted that DiaTech Holdings will take CEER Oncology forward and share their commitment to personalized medicine”, says Cathy Kerzner, chief executive officer of Prometheus.
About CEER
The proprietary Collaborative Enzyme Enhanced Reactive (CEER) assay measures the expression and activation of biomarkers associated with specific cancer pathways with high levels of analytical sensitivity and specificity using tissue or blood samples. The CEER platform will enable real-time functional proteomic profiling to evaluate potential effectiveness of targeted treatments, and help clinicians provide personalized care through evidence based treatment selection and monitoring process. To date, the CEER platform has been successfully utilized by pharmaceutical manufacturers in the clinical setting to support drug development efforts.
In addition to determining the potential effectiveness of cancer treatment, CEER also monitors evolving tumor biology to stay one step ahead of the disease progression. With its extreme analytical sensitivity and specificity, CEER enables longitudinal evaluation of samples with limited availability (such as fine needle aspirates, circulating tumor cells present in blood, spinal fluid or ascites) along the treatment journey of each patient. The platform has been utilized in more than 2,000 patients in 21 clinical studies and has the ability to quantitate and analyze multiple oncogenic pathways.
NHSc acquired Prometheus in 2011. DiaTech Holdings will continue to operate out of the Prometheus lab in San Diego in the interim and will grow the staff to approximately 45 employees. The San Diego facility will conduct translational research and clinical studies using CEER technology. Nestlé Health Science has retained rights to the CEER technology outside Oncology.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About DiaTech Holdings (now Pierian Biosciences)
Based in Franklin, Tenn., Pierian Biosciences is a privately held life sciences and clinical pathology laboratory company offering treatment-directing diagnostic data to support more effective and lower cost cancer treatment. The company’s technology includes the MiCK Assay and the CEER Oncology platform. The company has a CLIA and CAP certified laboratory in Franklin, Tenn. and business offices in the UK. For more information visit http://www.pierianbio.com.
About Prometheus Laboratories Inc.
Prometheus Laboratories Inc. is committed to improving lives through the development and commercialization of novel pharmaceutical and diagnostic products that enable physicians to provide greater individualized patient care. Prometheus is a leader in applying the principles of personalized medicine to the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and is applying these principles to oncology. Its strategy includes the marketing and delivery of pharmaceutical products complemented by proprietary diagnostic testing services. By integrating therapeutics and diagnostics, Prometheus believes it can provide physicians with more targeted solutions to optimize care for their patients. Prometheus became part of Nestlé Health Science in July 2011. Prometheus' corporate offices are located in San Diego, California. For more information about Prometheus, please visit http://www.prometheuslabs.com.
Amanda Cecconi, Pierian Biosciences, http://www.pierianbio.com, +1 615-473-7536, [email protected]
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