"Our goal for this collaboration with BD is to enable a number of diagnostics to be developed sooner that benefit many who currently suffer from these life-threatening conditions," said Cengiz Tarhan, Managing Director of UCLB.

Ovarian and breast cancer are among the two most deadly cancers for women. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women today, after lung cancer.  It also is the most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. According to 2007 American Cancer Society statistics (the most recent available), about 1.3 million new cases of breast cancer among women were expected to be diagnosed annually worldwide and about 465,000 were projected to die from the disease.  

In the case of ovarian cancer, more than 204,000 cases are diagnosed worldwide each year, and an estimated 125,000 women die from the disease annually.  In the United Kingdom and United States ovarian cancer is the fourth and fifth leading cause of cancer death among women respectively.  If diagnosed while the cancer is still confined to the ovary, the 5-year survival rate is more than 90 percent.  However, less than 20 percent of all cases are diagnosed at this localized stage.

About UCLBUCL Business plc is responsible for commercialising innovations arising from the research base at University College London, one of the UK's leading research-led universities. UCL Business undertakes a broad range of knowledge transfer activities, covering the facilitation of consultancy and collaborative research engagements through to technology transfer, company incubation and investment. More information on UCL Business can be found at www.uclb.com.