RICHMOND, British Columbia, May 11, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- BioCurex Inc. (Pink Sheets:BOCX) is pleased to provide information to its shareholders regarding its initiatives for the next 12 months of operation.
BioCurex recently announced a licensing agreement with a global healthcare company for a selection of the diagnostic applications within our patented/proprietary RECAF technology. This agreement strongly validates our technology as well as its potential to provide information to the healthcare professional for the early detection of cancer within many differing tissue types.
In the past two years, we have concentrated our efforts on strengthening the company and developing tissue and blood tests to detect cancer. Our efforts have added significant shareholder value and built a solid platform for future growth.
On the technical side, during the same period, we developed a general RECAF blood test to detect cancer, which was licensed to a major healthcare company. During the next 12 months we expect that other major companies will follow suit due to the semi-exclusive nature of our licensing agreements. We are also actively pursuing the licensing of other blood tests, such as the RIA (radioimmunoassay) format we have developed, as well as a rapid test format similar to the well known pregnancy tests. Our firm belief is that these tests could be readily implemented in many countries.
Recent results indicate that we may be able to use our proprietary antibodies against RECAF for screening Pap smears for cervical cancer using microscopic examination. In the past few years, Pap tests have been increasingly done by automated systems using image recognition and artificial intelligence to discriminate between cancer cells and normal cells. Staining only the cancer cells using a variation of our Histo-RECAF(tm) test should prove very useful to markedly increase the productivity of automated systems as well as improving the accuracy of the final diagnosis. If our large sample studies are successful, we believe that a licensing deal could be struck within the next 12-18 months. In North America alone, 50 million Pap tests are carried out every year, representing a market of over $1B.
The Company recognizes that its RECAF technology can be utilized not only for in-vitro diagnosis but also for imaging and immunotherapy. The use of RECAF for imaging is under further investigation, research and development. The concept is to use a radioisotope to 'label' a substance which then localizes on RECAF. Since RECAF is present on cancer cells but not on normal cells, the substance will identify the location of the cancer within the body. An image would then be taken to localize that cancer. The potential for this aspect of the technology to assist both diagnostics and ultimately therapeutics is significant, since knowing the location of the cancer is a further step in effective and early cancer management. We anticipate significant advancement in the imaging arena in the near term.
BioCurex's ultimate goal is to provide directed therapy for cancer. The concept is to target the cancer cells expressing RECAF with our antibodies, either by themselves or coupled to chemotherapy drugs, toxins or radioactive compounds. Thus, only RECAF-positive cells, that is, cancer cells, would be killed; normal RECAF-negative cells would be spared. Preliminary in-vitro results suggest that this can be done, but further studies are required before making any definitive claims.
The Company has demonstrated its ability to license diagnostic applications of RECAF and will now embark on an efficient program to develop and subsequently enhance its therapeutic applications. The therapeutic program will be encompassing, but the potential reward for the company and obviously the patient population is enormous. We have attracted the interest of several research institutions and companies in the USA that wish to work with us on the different aspects of imaging and immunotherapy. The ultimate goal of these collaborations will be to engage in Phase I, II and IIII clinical trials.
Throughout our development period, the Company has fulfilled its financial needs with private equity investments with the issuance of restricted stock. The strategy has allowed us to minimize shareholder dilution. The financing of new initiatives is being pursued at this time. The establishment of income from the present long term royalty arrangement requires no further significant expenditure by the Company. Until the royalty revenue is established from the primary licensing deal, the Company will maintain an appropriate level of expenditure to accomplish its goals. The development of a RIA based serum test may well provide earlier revenues until licensing arrangements are achieved. Financing through additional strategic equity investment is anticipated. The Company has had several discussions on this subject to date. BioCurex will also focus on obtaining an alternative listing of its shares. The recent licensing agreement has provided new opportunities in this area.
We believe the potential for each RECAF application is very significant. Our diagnostic blood test is now validated. We are diversifying the effort to include several different RECAF applications with the final efforts concentrated on the most promising applications in order to minimize the risks. Our shareholders should recognize that the Company is on stable ground with recognized technology that has great potential to establish BioCurex as a major biotechnology company.
In summary, during the following 12-18 months the Company will emphasize its efforts to:
-- License its blood tests to other major companies
-- Develop and license a RECAF based test for manual and automated,
high throughput PAP smear tests
-- Commence development of therapeutics and imaging applications
based on RECAF
-- Develop collaborations and strategic alliances that will be
instrumental in carrying out Phase I, II, and III clinical trials
if and when the pre-clinical work for those imaging and
therapeutic applications is successfully completed
-- License its proprietary RIA RECAF test to reference laboratories
-- Move the Company to a more appropriate listing of its shares.
To read more about the Company, please visit the News section in our web site (www.biocurex.com).
About BioCurex:
BioCurex, Inc. is a biotechnology company that is developing products based on patented/proprietary technology in the areas of cancer diagnosis, imaging and therapeutics. The technology identifies a cancer marker known as RECAF(tm), which is found on malignant cells from a variety of cancer types but is absent in most normal or benign cells. To find out more about BioCurex (BOCX), visit our website at www.biocurex.com.
Note: The Company has not authorized the release of this information in any form that contravenes the Communication Act and will not be responsible for unsolicited massive distribution of this material by e-mail or facsimile by unauthorized parties. Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements'' within the meaning given to that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.