FAIRFIELD, Conn., April 14, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Competitive Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:CTT) announced today that a homocysteine assay license has been granted to the Diagnostics Division of F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. (ADR: RHHBY) (Roche) under CTT's U.S. Patent Number 4,940,658 relating to homocysteine medical tests.
Elevated levels of homocysteine resulting from vitamin B12 and folate deficiency may be a risk factor in heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, various pregnancy complications, dementia from Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and presbyopia. The homocysteine patent is derived from discoveries made by CTT's clients, Drs. Robert Allen and Sally Stabler from the University of Colorado and the late Dr. John Lindenbaum from Columbia University.
"We are very pleased to issue this license to Roche Diagnostics as they enter the homocysteine assay market," said Aris D. Despo, CTT's VP Life Science Business Development. "This is the sixth agreement we have signed as part of our active licensing and royalty collection program for the patented homocysteine assay. CTT is continuing with our strategy of recognizing the strength and growth of the demand for the homocysteine assay, an important element in our portfolio of technologies. An estimated 20 million assays were performed in 2004, a double-digit growth over 2003."
Under the agreement, Roche Diagnostics is granted a license under the CTT patent. CTT has an active program of collecting royalties from all organizations involved in the homocysteine assay process. CTT has signed license agreements with and is collecting royalties from companies performing the majority of homocysteine assays in the marketplace. These companies now include Roche, Bayer, Abbott, Quest, Diagnostic Products and GENCHEM.
About Roche and the Diagnostics Division
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.
About Competitive Technologies, Inc.
Competitive Technologies, established in 1968, is a full-service technology transfer and licensing provider focused on the technology needs of its customers and transforming those requirements into commercially viable solutions. CTT is a global leader in identifying, developing and commercializing innovative technologies in life, digital, nano, and physical sciences developed by universities, companies and inventors. The global market for technology transfer services is estimated at $150 billion annually. CTT maximizes the value of intellectual assets for the benefit of its customers, clients and shareholders. Visit CTT's website: www.competitivetech.net
Statements about our future expectations, including development and regulatory plans, and all other statements in this document other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Federal Securities Laws, and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements involve risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including those set forth in Item 7 under the caption "Risk Factors," in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on October 29, 2004, and other factors that may be described in our other filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.
Direct inquiries to: Johnnie D. Johnson, Strategic IR, Inc. E-mail: jdjohnson@strategic-ir.com (212) 754-6565; Fax (212) 754-4333 ctt@competitivetech.net