TORONTO, Sept. 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GeneNews Limited (TSX:GEN), a company focused on the development and commercialization of novel blood-based tests for the early detection of diseases and personalized health management, today announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Shanghai Biochip Co. Ltd. ("SBC"), a leading Chinese engineering centre for advanced microarray and gene expression profiling technologies.
GeneNews and SBC will establish the first Sentinel Centre for Personalized Medicine, based in Shanghai, to co-develop and commercialize additional products based on GeneNews' proprietary platform technology, the Sentinel Principle®. Under the terms of the agreement, SBC also obtains non-exclusive rights to market and sell GeneNews' ColonSentry® test in China. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"After more than 30 years of economic reform, China has been able to improve living standards substantially and is now very focused on enhancing and improving health standards for its 1.3 billion people population, particularly with respect to the prevention, early detection and personalized treatment of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and mental disorders," stated Chairman Hua of Shanghai Biochip. "We believe that this cooperation between Shanghai Biochip and GeneNews will bring great benefit to China and the rest of the world."
"The signing of this agreement represents a significant milestone for the commercialization of our Sentinel Principle® platform, opens the door to the Chinese market and provides us with access to Shanghai Biochip's significant expertise in gene expression profiling platforms and to its well-established clinical network. We are excited about working with Shanghai Biochip and look forward to building a successful long-term alliance," said Gailina J. Liew, President & Chief Operating Officer of GeneNews.
The Sentinel Principle®, a platform technology discovered and developed by GeneNews, is based on the concept that all clinical conditions and body states, including those resulting from disease or in response to treatment, generate characteristic gene expression signatures in the blood as a result of the constant and dynamic physiological interaction of blood with the cells, tissues and organs of the human body. This technology is the basis of GeneNews' initial product, ColonSentry™, the world's first blood test for colorectal cancer, and the SentinelGx™ suite of services. GeneNews' broad global patent portfolio includes issued foundational patents and pending patents in diverse disease areas such as cancer, cardiovascular, neurological and inflammatory conditions.
About Shanghai Biochip
Shanghai Biochip is a national engineering centre for advanced microarray and gene expression profiling technologies in China that specializes in genetics, protein and other micro-organism detection with a dedicated clinical diagnostics institute that provides molecular examination services for early diagnosis and personalized treatment of certain diseases. For more information, go to www.shbiochip.com.
About GeneNews
GeneNews is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the application of blood-based RNA molecular signatures to enable early diagnosis and personalized health management. The Company has a patented core platform technology, the Sentinel Principle®, which has the power to detect and stage a range of diseases or medical conditions from a simple blood sample. GeneNews is currently applying the Sentinel Principle® in major areas with unmet clinical needs such as cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. GeneNews' lead product, ColonSentry®, is the world's first blood test to pre-screen and assess an individual's current risk for colorectal cancer. For more information on GeneNews and ColonSentry®, go to www.GeneNews.com and www.ColonSentry.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
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