SAN ANTONIO, July 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- bioAffinity Technologies today announced the renewal of its collaborative agreement with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for research and development of novel cancer diagnostic and therapeutic agents using the Company’s porphyrin-based technology platform. This announcement marks the fourth year of collaboration.
Leading the University’s research team is Alexander Pertsemlidis, Ph.D., who is affiliated with the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute where he is Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular and Structural Biology and Director of the Cancer Biology Discipline in the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program.
Dr. Pertsemlidis’ laboratory investigates the roles of non-coding RNAs in cancer pathogenesis and in modulating cancer cell drug response and seeks to identify those that are diagnostic markers or therapeutic targets or agents. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral fellowships in computational biology and genetics at The UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Dr. Pertsemlidis will work with bioAffinity’s science team led by Vivienne Rebel, M.D. and Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical and Science Officer. Dr. Rebel, who previously led her own research team at The UT Health Science Center, is a cancer stem cell biologist who has done extensive work in the molecular nature of cancer.
“Our close working relationship and collaboration with the world-class researchers and scientists at The UT Health Science Center continue to move us that much closer to the commercialization of accurate, non-invasive diagnostics and life-saving targeted therapeutics for multiple cancers,” said bioAffinity President and CEO Maria Zannes. “Dr. Pertsemlidis’ involvement provides bioAffinity with interesting and novel approaches to cancer therapeutics and a better understanding of the scientific underpinnings of the Company’s diagnostic and drug delivery platform.”
bioAffinity’s porphyrin-based CyPath® bio-label preferentially binds to cancer cells as compared with non-cancer cells. The CyPath®-labeled cancer cells display a distinctive fluorescence, which makes cancer detectable by an imaging system. bioAffinity’s wholly owned subsidiary, OncoSelect Therapeutics, will build upon the Company’s porphyrin-based diagnostics to create targeted therapeutics to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into cancer cells.
About bioAffinity Technologies
bioAffinity Technologies, Inc. (www.bioaffinitytech.com) is a privately held development-stage company addressing the significant unmet need for non-invasive, early-stage cancer diagnosis and treatment. The Company develops proprietary in-vitro diagnostic tests and targeted cancer therapeutics using breakthrough technology that preferentially targets cancer cells. The Company’s platform technology will be developed to diagnose, monitor, and treat many cancers. CyPath® Lung, bioAffinity’s initial product, is designed to be the first successful non-invasive, early-stage lung cancer diagnostic on the market.