NEW HAVEN, Conn., June 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Specialty cancer diagnostics company Precipio, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRPO), today announced the award of US patent No. 9,957,556 entitled FULL COLD-PCR ENRICHMENT WITH REFERENCE BLOCKING SEQUENCE, to Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the licensor of Precipio’s ICE-COLD PCR DNA enrichment platform, and to Precipio’s scientific advisory board member Dr. Gerassimos (Mike) Makrigiorgos.
The agreement between Precipio and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides for the exclusive, worldwide license rights for ICE-COLD PCR and related technologies.
Significance of Patent
While previous patents issued on ICE COLD-PCR related to process methods, the new patent protects the use and application of kits containing reagents essential to performing ICE-COLD PCR.
The patent portfolio related to ICE COLD-PCR and COLD-PCR now includes 17 separate patents.
The newly issued patent further strengthens the global patent portfolio surrounding ICE COLD-PCR and the use of ICP liquid biopsy technology in mutation enrichment kits with nine additional patent claims.
The ICP patent portfolio will enable Precipio to continue advances in the ICP kit product portfolio and provide customers consistent quality and cost effective liquid biopsy technology for tumor analysis, therapeutic monitoring and recurrence monitoring.
ICE COLD-PCR Advantages
ICP is an enrichment technology that enables the laboratory to focus analysis on the tumor DNA by enriching, and thereby “multiplying” the presence of tumor DNA, while maintaining the level of normal DNA.
Once the enrichment process is completed, the laboratory’s genetic testing equipment can identify genetic abnormalities present in the circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and an analysis can be conducted at a level of sensitivity that enables the detection of such genetic abnormalities within liquid biopsies.
The technology is encapsulated into a reagent provided in the form of a kit and sold to other laboratories who wish to conduct these tests in-house. The reagent within the kit is added to the specimen preparation process, enriching the sample for the mutations within the tumor DNA so that the analysis will detect those genetic abnormalities.
“Our competitive barriers to entry are strengthened with each new patent associated with ICE COLD PCR,” commented Ilan Danieli, Precipio CEO. “This is particularly critical with our ICP kits and this new US patent improves the value of this very important license.”
About Precipio
Precipio has built a platform designed to eradicate the problem of misdiagnosis by harnessing the intellect, expertise and technology developed within academic institutions and delivering quality diagnostic information to physicians and their patients worldwide. Through its collaborations with world-class academic institutions specializing in cancer research, diagnostics and treatment such as the Yale School of Medicine and Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Precipio offers a new standard of diagnostic accuracy enabling the highest level of patient care. For more information, please visit www.precipiodx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements related to ICP technology, including other financial projections and potential market opportunity, plans and prospects and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the known risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company’s prior filings and from time to time in the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any change in such factors, risks and uncertainties may cause the actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to in such statements. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release and the Company does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.