Precision Therapeutics’ Subsidiary TumorGenesis and its Partner 48Hour Discovery Inc. Receive Alberta Innovates Product Dem...
April 16 2019 - 8:45AM
Precision Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AIPT) (“Precision” or “the
Company”) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary,
TumorGenesis, is participating with 48Hour Discovery (48HD), a
Canadian partner, in receiving a $300,000 CAD grant through the
Alberta Innovates Product Demonstration Program. The strategic
collaboration will commercialize TumorGenesis’ Oncology Discovery
Platform Kits, with a set of proprietary reagents from 48HD’s core
technology to inform personalized treatment decisions in cancer
treatments. The development of the TumorGenesis Oncology Discovery
Platform Kits will have far-reaching effects around the globe for
oncology drug discovery and development of treatments focused
around precision medicine.
“This grant will provide additional funds to
further drive the development of our proprietary Oncology Discovery
Technology Platform kits, which will help researchers and
clinicians identify which cancer cells bind to which biomarkers,”
said Richard Gabriel, COO of TumorGenesis, Inc. “These biomarker
tags can then be used in the TumorGenesis Oncology Capture
Technology Platforms to isolate and help characterize the
heterogeneity of the patient’s tumor sample.”
“The TumorGenesis platform and its methodology for
tagging a tumor’s diverse cancer cell population is highly
complementary to our Helomics discovery service business, which
utilizes AI (Artificial Intelligence) and tumor genetic and drug
response profiling. Our vision is to tag every patient’s complex
tumor cell populations first with biomarkers, then to separate
cancer cells using those biomarkers, creating a unique
‘fingerprint’ of that tumor to deliver a personalized medicine
approach to cancer diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. Carl
Schwartz, CEO of Precision Therapeutics, Inc. “We are pleased to be
a part of the Alberta Innovate program grant to support the
development of this important technology platform and are looking
forward to continuing our strong collaboration with 48Hour
Discovery.”
The underlying technology behind the Discovery
Kits—molecular screening for biomarkers—has been developed at 48HD
and is being offered on a limited basis as a service in the 48HD
laboratories. The Discovery Kits to be commercialized in this
project will offer a similar service, where a 48HD molecular
library may be used to test tumor tissue at any Canadian
cancer treatment center as well as cancer centers in the US and
around the world. The kits will be a simple but elegant solution to
target drug therapy, replacing a time-consuming and complex,
multistep discovery process that currently guides the approach to
therapy.
“We are grateful to Alberta Innovates for
supporting 48Hour Discovery Inc. in its multi-year collaboration
with TumorGenesis,” says Dr. Ratmir Derda, CEO and founder of
48Hour Discovery. “There is a critical need to develop technologies
to construct a live, clinically-relevant model of patient tumors
that accurately respond to personalized therapy. By identifying
molecules that bind to live cancer cells, our Discovery Kit
provides the key step to understanding the microenvironment around
each tumor cell, giving us more information on how to develop
treatments to tackle the growth of these tumor cells.”
About Precision Therapeutics Inc.
Precision Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AIPT), operates through its three
wholly owned subsidiaries, Helomics, TumorGenesis and Skyline
Medical. Helomics applies artificial intelligence to its rich data
gathered from patient tumors to both personalize cancer therapies
for patients and drive the development of new targeted therapies in
collaborations with pharmaceutical companies. Helomics’
CLIA-certified lab provides clinical testing that assists
oncologists in individualizing patient treatment decisions, by
providing an evidence-based roadmap for therapy. In addition to its
proprietary precision oncology platform, Helomics offers boutique
CRO services that leverage its TruTumor™, patient-derived tumor
models coupled to a wide range of multi-omics assays (genomics,
proteomics and biochemical), and an AI-powered proprietary
bioinformatics platform (D-CHIP) to provide a tailored solution to
its clients’ specific needs. Precision’s TumorGenesis subsidiary is
developing a new rapid approach to growing tumors in the
laboratory, which essentially “fools” cancer cells into thinking
they are still growing inside a patient. Its proprietary Oncology
Discovery Technology Platform kits will assist researchers and
clinicians to identify which cancer cells bind to specific
biomarkers. Once the biomarkers are identified they can be
used in TumorGenesis’ Oncology Capture Technology Platforms which
isolate and help categorize an individual patient’s heterogeneous
tumor samples to enable the development of patient specific
treatment options. Helomics and TumorGenesis are focused on ovarian
cancer. Precision’s Skyline Medical subsidiary markets its patented
and FDA cleared STREAMWAY System which automates the collection,
measurement and disposal of waste fluid, including blood,
irrigation fluid and others, within a medical facility through both
domestic and international divisions. The company has achieved
sales in five of the seven continents through both direct sales and
distributor partners. For more information, please visit
www.precisiontherapeutics.com.
About 48Hour Discovery,
Inc.Founded in 2017, 48Hour Discovery Inc. aims to
facilitate new drug discovery in the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries with our advanced platform based on
patented barcoded libraries, stream-lined workflow and open-access
data management. The 48Hour Discovery Cloud houses a database of
user curated content of >10,000 screens and provides easy-to-use
search functions, data visualization and analysis. We are committed
to building new technologies that make ligand discovery faster,
easier, and more transparent. For more information, please visit
48hourdiscovery.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the matters discussed in the press
release contain forward-looking statements that involve material
risks to and uncertainties in the Company’s business that may cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the
statements made herein. Such risks and uncertainties include (i)
risks related to the recent merger with Helomics, including the
fact that the combined company will not be able to continue
operating without additional financing; possible failure to realize
anticipated benefits of the merger; costs associated with the
merger may be higher than expected; the merger may result in
disruption of the Company’s and Helomics’ existing businesses,
distraction of management and diversion of resources; and the
market price of the Company’s common stock may decline as a result
of the merger; (ii) risks related to our partnerships with other
companies, including the need to negotiate the definitive
agreements; possible failure to realize anticipated benefits of
these partnerships; and costs of providing funding to our partner
companies, which may never be repaid or provide anticipated
returns; and (iii) other risks and uncertainties relating to the
Company that include, among other things, current negative
operating cash flows and a need for additional funding to finance
our operating plan; the terms of any further financing, which may
be highly dilutive and may include onerous terms; unexpected costs
and operating deficits, and lower than expected sales and revenues;
sales cycles that can be longer than expected, resulting in delays
in projected sales or failure to make such sales; uncertain
willingness and ability of customers to adopt new technologies and
other factors that may affect further market acceptance, if our
product is not accepted by our potential customers, it is unlikely
that we will ever become profitable; adverse economic conditions;
adverse results of any legal proceedings; the volatility of our
operating results and financial condition; inability to attract or
retain qualified senior management personnel, including sales and
marketing personnel; our ability to establish and maintain the
proprietary nature of our technology through the patent process, as
well as our ability to possibly license from others patents and
patent applications necessary to develop products; Precision’s
ability to implement its long range business plan for various
applications of its technology; Precision’s ability to enter into
agreements with any necessary marketing and/or distribution
partners and with any strategic or joint venture partners; the
impact of competition, the obtaining and maintenance of any
necessary regulatory clearances applicable to applications of
Precision’s technology; and management of growth and other risks
and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in the
Company’s reports filed with the SEC, which are available for
review at www.sec.gov. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell
securities and does not purport to be an analysis of Precision’s
financial position. See Precision’s most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K, and subsequent reports and other filings at
www.sec.gov.
Media Contact:Jules AbrahamCORE
IR917-885-7378julesa@coreir.com
Investor Relations Contact:Bret
Shapiro, Managing PartnerCORE IR(516) 222-2560brets@coreir.com
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