SAN JOSE, Calif., June 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ITUS
Corporation (NASDAQ: ITUS) today announced that it has chosen
prostate cancer as the first commercial focus for its Cchek™,
non-invasive liquid biopsy cancer detection platform.
ITUS has previously reported that its Cchek™ technology, which
utilizes immune-profiling using flow cytometry coupled with
artificial intelligence, has demonstrated the ability to identify
twenty different cancer types through a simple blood test.
While testing of additional cancers continues, ITUS has determined
that it is now positioned to choose an initial tumor type as its
first commercial aim. The decision incorporated a number of
factors including, key scientific, clinical, and commercial
considerations as follows:
Scientific Considerations: Our recent studies with
prostate cancer demonstrate excellent sensitivity and
specificity. One highlight is the recent study completed with
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Serametrix
Corporation. This study achieved 92% sensitivity and 92%
specificity using 121 prostate cancer and 125 healthy donor
samples. The Cchek™ artificial intelligence was trained on 85
late-stage, biopsy verified, prostate cancer samples and 88 healthy
donor samples. After training, ITUS was provided an
additional 73 unlabeled (blinded) samples, and ITUS correctly
identified 33 of 36 prostate cancer samples and 34 of 37 healthy
donor samples.
Clinical Considerations: While prostate specific
antigen (PSA) testing is the primary method of screening for
prostate cancer, it is well known that this test produces large
numbers of false results. As a result, most prostate
biopsies, successive to high PSA scores, are negative.
Therefore, a tremendous opportunity exists to identify many males
that do not need expensive, painful and risk-laden biopsy
procedures. Eventually, we expect that Cchek™
could be used in conjunction with or instead of PSA for
screening.
Commercial Considerations: Cchek™ is a blood test
that is fast and does not require advanced preparation by the
patient. Therefore, it is similar to the PSA test and ITUS
believes a combination of PSA and Cchek™ will be a
much better way to detect prostate cancer and will significantly
reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies.
Dr. Amit Kumar, CEO of ITUS
stated, "While we have chosen prostate for our first commercial
effort, we will continue to test other tumor types as they come in
from our collaborators. However, our goal is to create a
bolus of data on prostate cancer with which we can engage in
discussions with regulators. A key component of this data
package is going to be how well Cchek™ is able to classify benign
conditions like benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). BPH is the
most common inflammatory disease of the prostate, and while it is a
disease of the prostate gland, it is not a malignancy requiring a
biopsy. We hope our results with benign conditions are as
good as our results with cancer." Dr. Kumar continued, "It's
important to highlight that there has been a lot of press around
recent studies of liquid biopsies for early cancer detection.
I want to note that our studies have shown comparable and often
better data, even though our sample size is small. I also
want to note that most other studies have not considered benign
conditions."
ITUS Corporation
ITUS, a cancer-focused biotechnology
company, is harnessing the body's immune system in the fight
against cancer. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Anixa
Diagnostics Corporation, is developing the Cchek™
platform, a series of non-invasive blood tests for the early
detection of solid tumor based cancers, which is based on the
body's immunological response to the presence of a
malignancy. Its majority owned subsidiary, Certainty
Therapeutics, Inc., is developing CAR-T based immuno-therapy drugs
which genetically engineer a patient's own immune cells to fight
cancer. ITUS also continually examines emerging technologies
in complementary or related fields for further development and
commercialization. Additional information is available at
www.ITUScorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: Statements that are
not historical fact may be considered forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of
historical facts, but rather reflect ITUS Corporation's current
expectations concerning future events and results. We generally use
the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates,"
"likely," "will" and similar expressions to identify
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements,
including those concerning our expectations, involve risks,
uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our
control, which may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from
any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks,
uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, those
factors set forth in "Item 1A - Risk Factors" and other sections of
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as in our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You are
cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements
when evaluating the information presented in this press
release.
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SOURCE ITUS Corporation