- Company's TissueAnalytics(R) Platform Aims to Assist Pathologists in
Pre-clinical and Clinical Toxicity Research -
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Integrated
systems biology company Icoria, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICOR), announced today that it
has been granted U.S. Patent # 6,819,787 relating to the automated detection,
analysis and quantification of histological specimens. This patent supports
the Company's TissueAnalytics(R) system of automated tissue analysis software
which is currently being tested by customers searching for indications of
toxicity in the drug discovery and development process. This latest patent
extends Icoria's U.S. intellectual property portfolio to 27 patents.
"Our intellectual property gives Icoria a competitive advantage in the
field of automated tissue analysis by allowing us to perform pathologist-
guided quantification of subtle tissue changes that are relevant to toxicity
and efficiacy," said Peter Johnson, Chief Business Officer and Chief Medical
Officer. "This patent also demonstrates the continued advances we are making
as we expand the capabilities of advanced tissue analysis to help pathologists
and researchers gather and analyze data from pre-clinical research and
clinical trials."
Icoria's TissueAnalytics(R) system combines state-of-the-art image
analysis with a robust computational platform to automatically analyze
prepared tissue slides for morphological variation. The system, which extends
the detection capability of the human eye, enables detection of subtle effects
of drugs and disease that may otherwise be missed in standard manual analyses.
"The commercial ramifications of this capability are significant, since
this approach has the potential to assist pathologists in the process of
detecting drug effects during pre-clinical and clinical trials, a process that
is currently manually intensive, expensive and time consuming," said Heiri
Gugger, President and CEO of Icoria. "We are presently working to leverage
our technological and proprietary advantages into further opportunities with
existing and potential new commercial partners."
About Icoria
Icoria is an integrated systems biology company applying its proprietary
platform to the discovery and development of safer, more effective drugs and
agrichemicals. Icoria has major contracts with the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, Bayer CropScience, the Monsanto Company,
Pioneer Hi-Bred International (a subsidiary of DuPont) and L'Oreal Inc.
Icoria also has a major grant from the National Institute of Standards &
Technology's Advanced Technology Program. For more information,
visit http://www.icoria.com .
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the Company's expectations for using its systems biology
platform. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to a number of risks, factors and uncertainties
that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially
from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. These risks,
factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Icoria's early
stage of development, history of net losses, technological and product
development uncertainties, reliance on research collaborations, uncertainty of
additional funding and ability to protect its patents and proprietary rights.
Certain of these and other risks are identified in Icoria's annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and in its quarterly report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, each filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend to update any
of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release to conform
these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except
as may be required by law.
SOURCE Icoria, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.icoria.com
CONTACT:
Media-Public Relations of Icoria, Inc.,
+1-919-425-2999; or Brian Ritchie or Mark Vincent of EURO RSCG
Life NRP, +1-212-845-4200
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