Woburn, MA, September 11, 2001
AlphaGene, Inc. has announced today that it has
broadened its network of neurological research
agreements to include Wayne State University and its
affiliate, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer
Institute. The Karmanos Cancer Institute is one of
the nation's leading cancer research, treatment,
education, and outreach centers. This newest
agreement in neuro-oncology teams the
multidisciplinary research efforts of Wayne State
University, a leading academic institution, with the
functional genomics expertise of AlphaGene, Inc.
Together with AlphaGene, this research collaboration
seeks to identify patterns of gene expression
characteristic of malignant brain tumor cell types
and to correlate gene expression patterns with
treatment regimens. As a result of the information
gained, new diagnostic methods and prognostic
options may be achieved thus providing a better
quality of life for patients with malignant tumors.
Wayne State University, through Dr. Andrew E. Sloan,
M.D., who is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
at Wayne State University, and Chief of
Neuro-Oncology at Karmanos Cancer Institute, is
developing a bank of brain tumors and normal blood
specimens from all consenting patients undergoing
surgical resection of intracranial neoplasms. The
tumor bank currently includes approximately 500
brain tumors. Dr. Sloan has been the recipient of
the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) Young
Clinician Investigator Award for his work
characterizing gene expression in human glial cells
and neoplasms.
AlphaGene is a biotechnology company engaged in
research relating to neuro- degenerative diseases,
such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and to
oncology, in particular prostate cancer. The company
has a powerful suite of technologies to generate and
analyze differential gene expression data. This
analysis will be used to identify genes and disease
pathways responsible for the development and
progression of brain tumors.
Over 100,000 new cases of primary or metastatic
brain tumors will be diagnosed in the US in 2001
alone. Brain tumors are the fastest growing cause of
cancer-related deaths in people over age 65 and are
the second leading cause in children under 15 years
of age. Unlike lung cancer and melanoma, no
behavioral changes appear to decrease a person's
risk. Malignant brain tumors are difficult to detect
in the early stages and are resistant to the
standard toxic treatments for cancer. Thus, there is
a great-unmet need for new diagnostics and
therapeutics.
"We are pleased to announce this scientific
collaboration with Wayne State University School of
Medicine," said Donald J. McCarren, Ph.D., President
and CEO of AlphaGene. "We believe that by combining
our technologies and expertise, we will gain a
better insight into the genetic causes of the
disease, and in so doing, we will identify new
validated drug targets and markers for these
difficult to treat brain tumors.
About AlphaGene, Inc.
AlphaGene, Inc. (http://www.alphagene.com)
is a privately held functional genomics company
offering products and services to biotech and
pharmaceutical companies engaged in drug discovery and
development. AlphaGene uses its large inventory of
full-length cDNAs and Bioinformatics expertise to
bridge the gap between genomics and functional
proteomics. The company focuses on differential gene
expression in degenerative neurological diseases
including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
Diseases.
About Wayne State University
Wayne State University (http://www.wayne.edu)is
a premier research institution offering more than 350
academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to
more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit. It
is one of the nation's leading research
universities, ranking 46th among public
universities in research expenditures and
64th overall.
