BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetaStat, Inc. (OTCQB: MTST), a personalized medicine company developing therapeutic and diagnostic treatment solutions for cancer patients, announced today it received from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a notice of allowance for claims contained in a divisional application (U.S. patent application 14/074,089) entitled “Metastasis Specific Splice Variants of Mena and Uses Thereof in Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment of Tumors.” Additionally, MetaStat has received from the European Patent Office (EPO), a notice of issuance for patent EP 2 126 566 B1 entitled “Metastasis Specific Splice Variants of Mena and Uses Thereof in Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment of Tumors.”
“Importantly, these patents provide additional protection for our anti-metastatic therapeutic program and broader claims related to kit and nucleic acid versions for our MenaINV companion diagnostic assay,” stated Douglas A. Hamilton, President and CEO of MetaStat. “Expanding our intellectual property portfolio is a critical component of our new Rx/Dx strategy focused on developing higher-value products.”
European issued patent EP 2 126 566 B1 contains claims supporting the therapeutic use of anti-mena isoform drugs in addition to diagnostic use. The USPTO allowed additional claims related to kit based nucleic acid versions of MetaStat’s protein-based companion diagnostic tests. MetaStat can increase patient access to the MenaINV companion diagnostic test by developing a variety of nucleic acid and protein-based formats using different instrument platforms giving providers greater flexibility to run the test in their facility or at MetaStat’s centralized CLIA-approved laboratory.
About MenaINV Companion Diagnostic Test
Companion diagnostic tests provide oncologists with information regarding patient’s eligibility for cancer drugs and if the patient is likely to benefit. MetaStat is developing the MenaINV companion diagnostic test to select patients for treatment with our anti-metastatic drug candidates, based on the Mena isoform drug target, and to predict drug response to certain receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitors and taxane-based treatments.
About MetaStat, Inc.
MetaStat is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing personalized therapeutic and diagnostic treatment solutions for cancer patients. Our Mena isoform “driver-based” diagnostic biomarkers also serve as novel therapeutic targets for anti-metastatic drugs. MetaStat is developing therapeutic product candidates and paired companion diagnostics based on a novel approach that makes the Mena isoform protein a drugable target. Our core expertise includes an understanding of the mechanisms and pathways that drive tumor cell invasion and metastasis, as well as drug resistance to certain targeted therapies and cytotoxic chemotherapies. MetaStat is based in Boston, MA.
