QUEBEC CITY, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - DiagnoCure Inc. (TSX: CUR), a life sciences company commercializing high-value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering lab services, today reported financial and operating results for the third quarter ended July 31, 2008. The Company announced a net loss of $4,207,974 or $0.10 per share for the third quarter ending July 31, 2008. These results are substantially in line with Management expectations and reflect the pre-marketing and final development activities that led to the launch of the Previstage(TM) GCC test in late August. At the end of the quarter, cash, short-term and long-term investments stood at $23,384,513.
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"Our sales team is now actively promoting the Previstage(TM) GCC test to clinicians across the United States", stated John Schafer, President and CEO of DiagnoCure. "We are also very pleased by the European sales performance of PCA3. Gen-Probe, our partner in the development and commercialization of this test, recently announced that their European sales of PCA3 are now exceeding the sales in the United States. This clearly shows that Gen-Probe has implemented strong marketing efforts in Europe, where PCA3 has received full regulatory approval that allows Gen-Probe to actively promote the test in that part of the world. Altogether, this is a great time for DiagnoCure".
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Highlights of the Quarter
Previstage(TM) GCC test
In May, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, attended by 30,000 health practitioners concerned with cancer, DiagnoCure introduced Previstage(TM) GCC, a molecular diagnostic solution for the need to more accurate staging of colorectal cancer. This major milestone allowed the Company to educate the oncology community about the potential of Previstage(TM) GCC. ASCO also featured a number of important studies about colorectal cancer, including one from Dr. Scott Waldman, from the Thomas Jefferson University, who conducted a prospective, 5-year NIH-sponsored study on GCC; Dr. Waldman presented his discovery and clinical implications of the GCC marker. Key opinion leaders from the colorectal cancer treatment community expressed interest in the Company's Previstage(TM) GCC test and Dr. Waldman's presentation.
In June, DiagnoCure gave presentations at important meetings in the United States on its GCC testing research and on the beneficial role of GCC in the staging of colorectal cancer to the medical community.
On August 4, DiagnoCure announced that four prominent colorectal cancer key opinion leaders had agreed to serve on the Strategic Advisory Board of its wholly-owned subsidiary, DiagnoCure Oncology Laboratories. The mandate of these renowned specialists consists of advising the Company on issues related to the Previstage(TM) GCC test and the Company's commercialization efforts.
During the quarter, DiagnoCure Oncology Laboratories completed the development and validation of Previstage(TM) GCC. On August 26, the Company announced that it had received approval from the U.S. regulatory authorities with the specific CLIA certification required to launch Previstage(TM) GCC. The test is now offered and promoted directly to clinicians across the United States. Previstage(TM) GCC provides clinicians significantly more accurate information for staging a patient with colorectal cancer that increases their confidence in making critical treatment decisions.
PCA3 testing
In May, the PCA3 test was a subject of several key presentations and three exhibits at the meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Orlando, Florida, attended by urologists from around the world. Gen-Probe featured the test in its exhibition booth, and Dianon (LabCorp) and AmeriPath (Quest) had their versions of the PCA3 test
