20 January 2010
DiaGenic and Ferrer inCode sign distribution agreement for breakthrough ADtect® early Alzheimer’s test in Western Europe and Latin America
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| Ref | Diag.2.10 |
| Corporate Inquiries |
Alfredo Gracia, Chief Scientific Officer |
| Media Inquiries |
Richard Hayhurst, Schwartz Communications |
OSLO/BARCELONA – January 20, 2010 – DiaGenic ASA (OSL:DIAG) and Ferrer inCode today announced that they have signed a distribution agreement for the blood-based ADtect® test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease covering a total of 32 countries. The agreement gives Ferrer inCode, a biotech subsidiary of Grupo Ferrer Internacional, the exclusive right to sell and market ADtect® initially in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal followed by Latin America.
The agreement is an important add-on to our distribution agreements for Europe. Ferrer is a strong player within the CNS field and has a large sales force in the major markets in Europe and Latin America with competence within both pharma and molecular diagnosis”, said Morten Sten Johansen, DiaGenic’s International Business Director. “The agreement represents strong recognition of DiaGenic’s work and creates a solid commercial platform for DiaGenic’s growth”.
ADtect® uniquely uses peripheral blood as the sample material to provide early non-invasive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. “Early
detection enables subsequent early initiation of active management strategies which may preserve the patients’ level of function
for longer and increases the chances of delaying the progression of the disease”, said DiaGenic CEO Erik Christensen, M.D.,
Ph.D. “Current evidence suggests that pharmacological treatments and caregiver interventions can delay entry into nursing
homes, thus reducing healthcare costs. However, these cost savings are not being realized because many patients with Alzheimer’s
disease are either not diagnosed or diagnosed at a late stage of the disease. We envisage ADtect® with its rapid and convenient sample collection playing a front line role.”
“As front runners in the field of personalized medicine, we are delighted to offer ADtect to professionals and patients in
our core markets. The field of CNS is fast moving and we will continue to see important developments within treatment and
medical care of Alzheimer patients. Therefore we strongly believe in an easy to use and non-invasive test such as ADtect which
can provide early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and thereby improve quality of life”, said Alfredo Gracia M.D., Ph.D, Ferrer
inCode’s Chief Scientific Officer.
About Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the main cause of dementias and is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. As the disease progresses individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation.
AD is a major health problem in the western world and currently afflicts some 30 million people worldwide. As life expectancy increases, the prevalence of AD is expected to rise dramatically and will become an even more severe health problem in the next few decades. The societal world-wide costs were estimated at 315 billion USD in 2005. Intense research is ongoing to identify reliable cures or preventive measures for the disease. To help these investigations, biomarkers, like ADtect®, are critically needed that can reliably detect the disease at the earliest possible stage.
About DiaGenic ASA
DiaGenic is an innovative Norwegian biotechnology company that seeks to create value for patients, partners, and investors by developing new and more patient friendly methods for early detection of diseases. DiaGenic is currently a world leader in analyzing gene expression signatures related to disease in easily available clinical samples such as peripheral blood. This unique method is based on the principle that even when a disease is localized at a specific part of the body, secondary responses, which are also characteristic of the disease, can be measured in other parts. Significant potential in numerous diseases such as breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease has been identified. The company has been granted patents in the U.S. and Europe. DiaGenic is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. For more information visit www.diagenic.com
About Ferrer inCode and Grupo Ferrer Internacional
Ferrer inCode is the biotech subsidiary of Grupo Ferrer Internacional, working specifically in the field of personalized medicine as a provider of diagnostic orientation, prognosis and prediction services based chiefly on genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics. The vision of Ferrer inCode is to help doctors make the most accurate clinical decisions for every patient through advanced biotechnological services. Grupo Ferrer Internacional is a privately held European R&D-based pharmaco-chemical and medical device company headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. Ferrer operates today in over 60 countries with the overall aim of improving people’s health and quality of life. Based on its policy of continuous expansion throughout the world, Ferrer has established strong industrial and commercial operations in Europe and has extensive commercial experience in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Far East. For more information on Ferrer, visit: www.ferrergrupo.com or www.ferrerincode.com.
