RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., March 11, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- BioCurex Inc. (OTCBB:BOCX) announces that the U.S. Patent office has granted patent Nr. US6,514,685 B1 entitled "DETECTION OF CANCER USING ANTIBODIES TO THE AFP-RECEPTOR" (RECAF(tm)).
RECAF(tm) is a novel tumor marker, which is a molecule that is expressed in cancer cells but not on normal or benign tumor cells. RECAF(tm) has been found in all cancers so far studied, including breast, lung, stomach, colorectal, ovarian and prostate cancers. The RECAF(tm) molecule has been found in one hundred percent (100%) of breast cancers.
The U.S. patent covers 17 claims, which include the technologies used in the Company's Histo-RECAF(tm) and Cryo-RECAF(tm) kits as well as in the Serum-RECAF(tm) kits to be released for cancer diagnosis on blood samples. The patent also covers other in-vitro applications for diagnosis, screening and follow-up of cancer and leukemia. In-vivo RECAF(tm) applications, such as cancer imaging, therapy and vaccination remain pending under a continuation in part of the original application.
The patent covers BioCurex's Histo-RECAF(tm) kit, which has been now been cleared for sales by the FDA.
BioCurex has already been issued patents in Australia and Russia and has patents pending in Canada and Japan and most European countries with pending approvals for diagnostic and therapeutic applications which have a much greater market share potential than already stated.
Dr. Ricardo Moro stated: "As the inventor of this patent, I am elated by the decision of the U.S. Patent Office to grant this approval. The patent office is extremely thorough in their scrutiny and their approval provides a great deal of credibility to our technology. As the President of the Company, I am even more excited because now we have a final patent that we can license to the dominating biotechnology/pharma companies in the field of cancer diagnosis and screening. The market size for cancer diagnostics alone is estimated to be over $2 billion dollars not to mention the market potential for therapeutic applications."
Dr. Gerald Wittenberg, Chairman of the Board, added: "We are very pleased with the granting of this patent. We have committed a great deal of effort and resources to developing new cancer diagnostic products. The granting of our patent by the U.S. Patent Office and the clearance of our first product by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearly indicates that we are on the right track. We are delivering on what we planned to achieve and we will continue to advance our technologies for the benefit of cancer patients."
BioCurex, Inc. is a biotechnology company that is developing products based on patented/proprietary technology in the areas of cancer diagnosis, tumor imaging ad therapeutics. The technology identifies a cancer marker known as RECAF(tm), which is found on malignant cells from a variety of cancer types but is absent in most normal or benign cells. The Histo-RECAF(tm) kits provide proof of concept for the RECAF technology. Detailed information about BioCurex may be obtained from their website at http://www.biocurex.com.
Note:
Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning given to that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company has not authorized the release of this information in any form that contravenes the Communication Act and will not be responsible for unsolicited distribution of this material by e-mail or facsimile by unauthorized parties.