ALAMEDA, Calif., July 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OncoCyte Corporation (NYSE MKT:OCX), a developer of novel, non-invasive blood based tests for the early detection of cancer, and The Wistar Institute, an international biomedical research leader in cancer, immunology and infectious diseases, today announce that research results for a lung cancer diagnostic test being developed by The Wistar Institute and OncoCyte under a license from Wistar have been accepted for an Original Investigation Slide Presentation at the prestigious American College of Chest Physician’s CHEST 2016 annual meeting, which will be held in Los Angeles this October.
The Presentation “A Blood Based Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Diagnostic” will be presented by Louise Showe, Ph.D., professor of Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at The Wistar Institute and lead scientist on the study. Dr. Showe will report on results of a study that was conducted at Wistar and analyzed 610 human blood samples. Preliminary study results were announced in April of this year. The study replicated a previous study that was carried out at Wistar, the results of which were presented by Wistar at the American Thoracic Society conference in May of 2015.
OncoCyte must now independently validate the current results in its own follow-up study. In this study the Company will examine samples that it is collecting and will analyze them using its own laboratory facility and equipment. OncoCyte anticipates the validation study will begin in August 2016 and will be completed during the fourth quarter of 2016.
If the validation study is successful, OncoCyte intends to implement its commercialization plans with respect to the lung cancer diagnostic test, including hiring a dedicated sales force, building out its commercial infrastructure, and moving towards completion of and obtaining CLIA certification for its own diagnostic laboratory. The Company plans to launch its lung cancer diagnostic test in the first half of 2017.
“The acceptance of the data for presentation at CHEST is another step in validating our approach to diagnosing lung cancer and bringing it closer to commercialization by OncoCyte,” said Dr. Showe.
“CHEST’s acceptance of this presentation on the effectiveness of our non-invasive diagnostic for the early detection of lung cancer is a significant development for OncoCyte and Wistar,” commented William Annett, Chief Executive Officer of OncoCyte. “Each year there are 160,000 deaths related to lung cancer, in part because there is no effective test to reliably diagnose lung cancer at an early enough stage. We believe that OncoCyte’s non-invasive lung cancer diagnostic could represent an important step forward for patients, doctors and payers by improving outcomes and lowering costs. We look forward to continuing the next steps in the product development process and to providing additional updates in the coming months.”
About OncoCyte Corporation
OncoCyte is primarily focused on the development and commercialization of novel, non-invasive blood and urine (“liquid biopsy”) diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer to improve health outcomes through earlier diagnoses, to reduce the cost of care through the avoidance of more costly diagnostic procedures, including invasive biopsy and cystoscopic procedures, and to improve the quality of life for cancer patients. While current biopsy tests use invasive surgical procedures to provide tissue samples in order to determine if a tumor is benign or malignant, OncoCyte is developing a next generation of diagnostic tests that will be based on liquid biopsies using blood or urine samples. OncoCyte’s pipeline products are intended to be confirmatory diagnostics for detecting lung, bladder and breast cancer. OncoCyte’s diagnostic tests are being developed using proprietary sets of genetic and protein markers that differentially express in specific types of cancer.
About The Wistar Institute
The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer, immunology, infectious diseases, and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the country, Wistar has held the prestigious National Cancer Institute Cancer Center designation since 1972. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. Wistar’s Business Development team is dedicated to advancing Wistar Science and Technology Development through creative partnerships. wistar.org
Forward Looking Statements
Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates” and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. These statements include those pertaining to the implementation and results of our validation study and other studies, commercialization plans, future financial and/or operating results, future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and potential opportunities for OncoCyte, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential diagnostic tests or products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, the need and ability to obtain future capital, and maintenance of intellectual property rights, and the need to obtain third party reimbursement for patient’s use of any diagnostic tests we commercialize. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of OncoCyte, particularly those mentioned in the “Risk Factors” and other cautionary statements found in OncoCyte’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. OncoCyte disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
CONTACT: Investor Contact: EVC Group, Inc. Michael Polyviou/Chris Dailey 646-445-4800 mpolyviou@evcgroup.com /cdailey@evcgroup.com Media Contact: EVC Group, Inc. Dave Schemelia 646-445-4800 dave@evcgroup.com
