NEW YORK (360Dx) – Angle said this week that the first patient has been enrolled in its ANG-002 clinical study for metastatic breast cancer. The study will support the company's planned application to the US Food and Drug Administration to receive Class II clearance for a product for harvesting intact circulating tumor cells from patient blood for subsequent analysis. The clinical study involves recruitment of 200 metastatic breast cancer patients and 200 healthy volunteers enrolled at leading US cancer centers. The primary endpoint of the study, being led by MD Anderson, is the cytological evaluation of harvested cells confirming that CTCs are harvested from metastatic breast cancer patients but not from healthy volunteers. Additional exploratory endpoints are to demonstrate that the Parsortix-harvested cells can be analyzed using quantitative PCR (MD Anderson), fluorescence in situ hybridization (University of Southern California), and whole-transcriptome sequencing (University of Southern California). The company expects that both the clinical study and associated analytical studies will be completed in the second half of 2018.
Accuron this week completed the divestiture of its shares in Veredus Laboratories to Sekisui Chemical.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Singapore-based Veredus develops multiplex molecular solutions. Its lab-on-a-chip platform called the VerePlex Biosystem combines microelectromechanical systems with microfluidics to integrate multiplexed DNA amplification with microarray detection. The firm’s test menu includes panels for influenza subtyping, species differentiation, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance, Sekisui said in a statement.
Sema4, a Mount Sinai genomic testing spinout, plans to relocate its laboratory facilities from New York to a yet-to-be-determined site in Stamford, Connecticut, and will add more than 400 jobs over the next five years. The new Stamford lab will complement the company's existing recently announced headquarters in Stamford and its laboratory in Branford, Connecticut. Overall, Sema4 is expected to employ more than 550 employees in the state. The Department of Economic and Community Development will provide Sema4 with a $6 million loan for the purchase of machinery and equipment, capital improvements, and to create the new jobs. The company is eligible for partial loan forgiveness if certain milestones are met. In December 2015, DECD provided the company a $9.5 million loan to create 145 jobs in the state.
Akers Biosciences this week reported $3.9 million in total revenues for 2017, a 30 percent increase from $3.0 million in 2016. In a statement, the company said that sales of its BreathScan Alcohol Breathalyzers, BreathScan OxiCheck test, and its reintroduced Tri-Cholesterol test drove growth.
Its R&D costs grew 8 percent to $1.3 million from $1.2 million, and its SG&A expenses increased 20 percent to $6.1 million from $5.1 million. Net loss for 2017 was $5.8 million, or $.61 per share, compared to a loss of $3.3 million, or $.61 per share, a year ago.
Akers said it had $438,432 in cash and $5.0 million in marketable securities as of Dec. 31, 2017.
Proteomics International said this week that it has raised A$3.1 million ($2.4 million) after the exercise of certain options by its holders. The amount represents an uptake of 90 percent of the more than 17 million options on issue at Dec. 31, 2017, the Australian firm said. The remaining options, which represent a shortfall of A$341,808, are being exercised by the underwriter, Alto Capital. The options expired at the end of March and on completion, the exercise will raise the maximum available amount of $3.4 million before costs, Proteomics International said.
Inspirata said this week that it expanded its geographic footprint in the European market under the subsidiary Inspirata Europe.
The expansion comes less than three months after its acquisition of Omnyx from GE Healthcare and less than four months after it announced its expansion into Canada through the acquisition of Toronto-based Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.
The new entity, which will include sales, marketing, and technical personnel, is being established to support the Omnyx customer base and to be responsible for new business development throughout the region, the firm said.
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