ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 6, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dr. Wilbur Leopold, president of MIR Preclinical Services (MIR), a Michigan based corporation, and Dr. Sarah Bacus, founder, CEO and CSO of Targeted Molecular Diagnostics, LLC. (TMD), an Illinois limited liability company, today announced the companies have formed a strategic alliance to offer greater services and cost savings to clients. MIR is a contract research organization (CRO) specializing in the preclinical evaluation of novel anti-tumor agents. TMD is a diagnostics development organization with extensive biomarker assay experience in oncology.
"MIR Preclinical Services continually strives to address the changing needs of its clients," stated Dr. Leopold. "We have been seeking ways to enhance our position as a leader in the application of both conventional and imaging technologies to the preclinical evaluation of cancer drug candidates. TMD's experience, innovative technologies, and attention to quality service make them a perfect partner for us. Dr. Bacus is well known for her work in the field of cancer discovery and for her expertise in the application of immunohistochemistry to pharmacodynamic characterization of drug function. Our alliance with TMD will add a new dimension to the services we can offer our clients," Dr. Leopold continued.
"TMD is committed to developing biomarker assays and know-how that enables our pharmaceutical clients to effectively select patients for their targeted therapies," stated Dr. Bacus. Our collaboration with MIR allows us to address a broad array of services that leads towards this stated objective starting from the preclinical phase all the way through Phase III. Dr. Leopold's knowledge and expertise in dose and efficacy evaluation of anti-tumor agents along with his well-established reputation will provide great value for our pharmaceutical clients. We're very pleased to establish this relationship with Dr. Leopold and MIR."
About MIR Preclincal Services
MIR is a contract research organization specializing in the preclinical evaluation of novel anti-cancer drug candidates. The company's management has over 60 years of major pharma cancer drug discovery experience, and is a leader in the integration of traditional anti-cancer efficacy testing with clinically relevant imaging services to provide new insights to drug discovery and development. MIR offers a wide array of tumor models including human tumor xenografts, syngeneic mouse and rat cancers, and oncogene-driven tumors in transgenic mice. The company is unique in its ability to apply state of the art non-invasive imaging modalities including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray micro-CT, high resolution small animal PET, and bioluminescence/flourescence imaging to visualize biological processes such as signal transduction, apoptosis and angiogenesis. MIR's mission is to provide its clients with an integrated correlation of efficacy with pharmacodynamics (mechanism of action) directly translatable to clinical trial.
About Targeted Molecular Diagnostics
Targeted Molecular Diagnostics, LLC (TMD), Westmont, IL, is a diagnostics development organization with focused efforts in oncology. Its purpose is to develop diagnostic methods to identify patients who may benefit from a targeted therapy. TMD does so by employing biomarkers to identify specific molecular characteristics of the cancer cells. In addition, TMD designs novel diagnostic tests and protocols with state-of-the-art technology. TMD personnel have over 60 years of combined experience in areas of cancer biology and diagnostics. TMD scientists understand the complex molecular pathways involved in the cancer biological behavior and have developed test profiles for many tumor phenotypes. Dr. Bacus was the first to deploy optical imaging in concert with immunohistochemistry for the purposes of measuring patient response and establishing therapy dosage. TMD has also developed an extensive menu of Immunohistochemistry assays for phosphproteins involved in tumor biology and cell signaling.