SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Monogram Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGRM) today announced the promotion of
Gordon Parry, PhD, to the position of Vice President, Research and
Development, Oncology. Dr. Parry will have responsibility for Monogram's
oncology research and development programs, including the further
development of Monogram's proprietary VeraTag(TM) technology platform and
the first product based on that platform - the HERMark(TM) Breast Cancer
Assay.
Dr. Parry joined Monogram in 2007 as Senior Director of Research and
Development, Oncology. As Vice President, he will continue to manage
Monogram's oncology research and development team. Prior to joining
Monogram, he worked for twelve years at Berlex Biosciences where he was the
Department Head of their Cancer Research Department. Previously, he held a
variety of research positions in academia, including ten years at the
University of California's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. He is currently an
Advisory Council Member for the California Breast Cancer Research Program.
"Gordon has a tremendous experience base in the development of cancer
therapeutics and has already contributed significantly to the development
of our VeraTag platform," said William Young, Monogram's CEO. "HERMark, our
first product, is currently the subject of studies to establish its
clinical utility in breast cancer and I am pleased to have someone of
Gordon's experience and talent working on the further enhancement of the
VeraTag technology platform and the expansion of our portfolio of assays,
both in breast and other cancers."
HERmark is a proprietary diagnostic tool designed to accurately
identify and quantify HER2 protein and its activated form of HER2:HER2
homodimers. In several clinical cohorts of patients with metastatic breast
cancer who were selected with conventional HER2 assays, quantitative levels
of HER2 and HER2:HER2 homodimers, as measured by HERmark, correlate with
clinical outcomes following treatment with the HER2-directed monoclonal
antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin(R), Genentech), suggesting that the assay
can stratify patients with breast cancer according to their degree of
susceptibility to the drug. Additional studies of HERmark in the adjuvant
setting are in progress.
The VeraTag technology platform provides accurate and quantitative
measurements of proteins and activated proteins, including protein dimers.
Initial assay development is directed at the measurement of activated
epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and other HER receptor family
members that are directly targeted by approved cancer therapies. VeraTag
assays will potentially enable healthcare providers to identify the
appropriate course of treatment for cancers that have a particular
molecular profile. VeraTag assays may also be developed to measure other
proteins and signaling pathways that are key drivers of proliferation and
survival in cancer cells.
About Monogram
Monogram is a biotechnology company advancing individualized medicine
by discovering, developing and marketing innovative products to guide and
improve treatment of serious infectious diseases and cancer. The Company's
products are designed to help doctors optimize treatment regimens for their
patients that lead to better outcomes and reduced costs. The Company's
technology is also being used by numerous biopharmaceutical companies to
develop new and improved antiviral therapeutics and vaccines as well as
targeted cancer therapeutics. More information about the Company and its
technology can be found on its web site at http://www.monogrambio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These
forward-looking statements include references to the ability of VeraTag
technology, including HERmark, to significantly improve the information
available to physicians, results of studies intended to demonstrate
clinical utility of our VeraTag technology and HERmark products and
anticipated clinical and laboratory validation of these products in a CLIA
setting. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results to differ
materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in
such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to: risks and uncertainties relating to the performance of
our products; the growth in revenues; the risk that our VeraTag assays may
not predict response to particular therapeutic agents; the risk that we may
not be able to obtain additional cohorts of patient samples for additional
VeraTag studies, our ability to successfully conduct clinical studies and
the results obtained from those studies; whether larger confirmatory
clinical studies will confirm the results of initial studies; our ability
to establish reliable, high-volume operations at commercially reasonable
costs; expected reliance on a few customers for the majority of our
revenues; the annual renewal of certain customer agreements; actual market
acceptance of our products and adoption of our technological approach and
products by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; our estimate of the
size of our markets; our estimates of the levels of demand for our
products; the impact of competition; the timing and ultimate size of
pharmaceutical company clinical trials; whether payers will authorize
reimbursement for our products and services and the amount of such
reimbursement that may be allowed; whether the FDA or any other agency will
decide to further regulate our products or services; whether the draft
guidance on Multivariate Index Assays issued by FDA will be subsequently
determined to apply to our current or planned products; whether we will
encounter problems or delays in automating our processes; the ultimate
validity and enforceability of our patent applications and patents; the
possible infringement of the intellectual property of others; whether
licenses to third party technology will be available; whether we are able
to build brand loyalty and expand revenues; restrictions on the conduct of
our business imposed by the Pfizer, Merrill Lynch and other debt
agreements; the impact of additional dilution if our convertible debt is
converted to equity; and whether we will be able to raise sufficient
capital in the future, if required. For a discussion of other factors that
may cause actual events to differ from those projected, please refer to our
most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
as well as other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation,
to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of
anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such
statements.
HERmark and VeraTag are trademarks of Monogram Biosciences. Herceptin
is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc.
contacts: Alfred G. Merriweather Jeremiah Hall
Chief Financial Officer Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Tel: 650 624 4576 Tel: 415 677 2700
amerriweather@ jeremiah.hall@
monogrambio.com fkhealth.com
SOURCE Monogram Biosciences, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.monogrambio.com
CONTACT:
Alfred G. Merriweather, Chief Financial
Officer of Monogram Biosciences, Inc., +1-650-624-4576,
amerriweather@monogrambio.com, or Jeremiah Hall of Feinstein Kean
Healthcare, +1-415-677-2700, jeremiah.hall@fkhealth.com, for
Monogram Biosciences, Inc.
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