CytoTest and Uniformed Services University's Center for Prostate Disease Research enter into CRADA

Rockville, MD, March 30, 2015 (Newswire.com) - CytoTest Inc., the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF) announced today that they have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

Under the terms of the CRADA, CytoTest will collaborate with the Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) on the development of next-generation approaches to prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis. CPDR is a Department of Defense Prostate Center of Excellence program of USU’s Department of Surgery, administered by HJF. Both USU and HJF are located in Bethesda, Maryland.

CPDR has discovered a number of genetic and biochemical prostate cancer markers with the potential to be used as early diagnostic or prognostic indicators. As part of the initial CRADA efforts with CPDR, CytoTest will provide reagents, instrumentation, manufacturing, scale-up, biomarker screening services and assay construction capabilities to advance the development of these markers for use in clinical diagnostic testing.

The collaboration combines CPDR’s discovery and translational research abilities and unique clinical resources with CytoTest’s genomic medicine expertise and diagnostic assay development infrastructure. The studies will be conducted under the direction of Shiv Srivastava, Ph.D., CPDR's Co-director and Scientific Director, and Professor in USU’s Department of Surgery, working with a research and development team led by Reinhard Ebner, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at CytoTest.

“We are enthusiastic and honored to assist an exceptional institution such as CPDR in their cutting-edge basic and clinical research efforts,” said Joseph Cheng, President and CEO of CytoTest. “The collaboration is especially rewarding since investigators at CPDR and in our company have been engaged in fruitful working relationships for some time. Leveraging CPDR’s latest discoveries with CytoTest’s expertise in cytogenetic analysis and our resources for validating and optimizing genomics-based diagnostic assays, this CRADA is an exciting milestone for CytoTest.”

“During our investigations of regulation, expression and functions of prostate cancer-associated genes, we have uncovered a highly promising series of candidates for early detection as well as biomarkers with prognostic potential,” said Albert Dobi, Ph.D., Associate Director at CPDR. “We look forward to seeing some of these discoveries advance closer to the clinic.”

“From the beginning, our basic science and translational research program has brought together urologists, cancer biologists, pathologists, epidemiologists, and bioinformatics and clinical research experts striving to combat prostate cancer,” said Dr. Srivastava. “Innovative project partnerships are an integral component of our efforts toward developing and evaluating novel technologies for improving diagnosis, prognosis and personalized medicine of prostate cancer.”

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-cutaneous cancer in men and the second most common cause of male death from cancer. In 2015, approximately 220,800 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and an estimated 27,540 men will die from the disease.

Prostate cancer is also characterized by significant health disparities, with striking differences in incidence and mortality among ethnic, social and geographic patient groups, precipitating intensive investigations in search of sub-population specific biomarkers and therapies.

About CytoTest:

CytoTest Inc., a young and dynamic biotechnology company, is dedicated to providing high-quality, innovative and affordable molecular cytogenetics products and services. Headquartered in suburban Maryland near Washington, D.C., it is situated close to several premier biological research and medical centers.

With a multi-disciplinary team of passionate and dedicated researchers, and through spirited interactions with preeminent strategic partners in the academic, biotechnology and clinical communities, the company strives to stay at the forefront of diagnostic medicine.

CytoTest’s mission is to transform human genomic discoveries into useful products, and to design, manufacture and validate genetic and clinical diagnostics reagents with the highest quality.

About CPDR

The Center for Prostate Disease Research, Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, is a state-of-the-art translational research program that studies prostate cancer and prostate disease in the military health care system. Since its inception in 1992, the center has developed a comprehensive prostate cancer database within the DoD, with approximately 28,000 prostate subjects enrolled to date; a leading prostate cancer research center credited with groundbreaking discoveries; and a state-of-the-art prostate cancer clinical trials center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. For more information, visit cpdr.org. CPDR is a program of the Department of Surgery at USU and is administered by HJF.

About USU

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is the nation's federal health sciences university. USU students are primarily active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who have received specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, preventive medicine, traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, and acute trauma.

A large percentage of the University's nearly 5,200 physician and 1,000 advanced practice nursing alumni are supporting operations around the world, offering their leadership and expertise. The University also has graduate programs in biomedical sciences and public health, most open to civilian and military applicants, and oral biology. The programs are committed to excellence in research and have awarded more than 400 doctoral and 900 masters degrees to date. For more information about USU and its programs, visit usuhs.edu.

About HJF

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit organization established in 1983 and authorized by the U.S. Congress to support medical research and education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and throughout the military medical community. For more information, visit hjf.org.

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