Cepheid Enters Agreement To Exclusively License HPV Portfolio Developed by Qu...( Quantitative Detection of HPV Viral ...)

Quantitative Detection of HPV Viral Load a Possible Indicator of Cervical

Cancer Risk

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to exclusively license the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) patent portfolio held by Quantovir AB of Sweden for the quantitative measurement of high-risk HPV types using DNA-based detection. Quantovir is believed to be the first to demonstrate that a molecular diagnostic test measuring the quantity, or viral load, of HPV DNA present in cervical specimens can be used to predict a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. Cepheid plans to utilize Quantovir's technology to develop a new type of HPV test for the GeneXpert(R) System. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The GeneXpert System is ideal for the rapid diagnosis of infectious organisms like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but it can also be used to generate actionable, treatment-determining results in other medical areas including oncology and pharmaocogenetics," said John L. Bishop, CEO of Cepheid. "With the GeneXpert System, molecular diagnostics is no longer reserved solely for the highly complex laboratory setting; it is also enabling the benefits of this technology to be realized in moderately complex settings. An HPV test for the GeneXpert System is expected to provide accurate PCR results in minutes rather than days in a variety of clinical settings."

Infection with HPV is associated with nearly all cases of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide.(1),(2),(3) In the U.S., the treatment of cervical cancer costs approximately $2 billion per year.(4)

Given the demonstrated correlation of the presence of HPV with cervical cancer, HPV DNA testing has become an important diagnostic determinant of cancer risk. However, current tests approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do not mea
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