( HAMBURG Germany May 03 2007 /PRNews...)Indivumed Study Provides Sound Scientific Basis for a Predictive,Drug Test- Platform,Health

HAMBURG, Germany, May 03, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- At the April AACR Annual Meeting, Indivumed presented data which provide a sound scientific basis for a new drug test-platform to predict drug response in patients.

Tumor tissue-derived primary cell lines are currently the first choice for cancer drug testing. During their clonal selection and expansion, however, their gene and protein expression patterns change significantly, thereby losing many of their primary characteristics. Primary cell cultures are useful tools because they better reflect the molecular reality in tumors. A previous Indivumed study, however, showed that within 10 passages and after 10-12 weeks in culture, the molecular characteristics and target expression of these cells change significantly in >20% of cancer relevant genes, e.g. EGFR, HER2, VEGF, p53, CEA.

Gene expression data from short-term cultivated colorectal cancer primary cells show that in contrast to long-term cultivation (>1 month) primary cells cultivated for up to 72h do not change the molecular expression level of most cancer relevant genes. Some of the genes that play a role in cell to cell contact and tissue organization changed expression levels at various time points when compared to instantly frozen tumor tissue. These data provide a sound basis for Indivumed's new drug test-platform which allows molecular and functional analysis of molecular anti-cancer agents in a clinically meaningful system and, thus, a better prediction of clinical drug response.

Indivumed is a privately held biotech company focused on the generation, characterization and interpretation of highly standardized biological samples from human cancer. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany with a subsidiary in Washington, D.C., Indivumed has cooperation agreements with all major oncological hospitals in the Hamburg metropolitan area. Indivumed's current tumor biobank of o
'"/>