AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands and BARCELONA, Spain – Agendia BV and Ferrer inCode today announced an agreement that will give Ferrer exclusive rights to sell two of Agendia’s signature cancer diagnostic services. MammaPrint, a prognostic test that uses a 70-gene signature to indicate risk of breast cancer tumor recurrence, and CupPrint*, a gene expression profiling service which offers a fast and reliable method of identifying the primary tumor site in Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP). Under the exclusive distribution agreement, Ferrer has gained rights to sell the tests in Germany, France, Italy, and Portugal, in addition to a current agreement signed in 2007 covering Spain.
“We are confident that Ferrer inCode is the right partner for the successful expansion of MammaPrint and CupPrint* into these additional European markets,”
said Dr. Bernhard Sixt, president and chief executive officer of Agendia.
“This agreement will allow us to increase the availability of our services to more customers in these countries, with the result being that more patients and their physicians will have access to the valuable information provided by these tests.”
MammaPrint is a clinically proven, highly accurate gene expression profiling test that offers healthcare professionals a unique personalized prognostic analysis to determine a patient’s individual risk of recurrence of breast cancer. MammaPrint, the first In Vitro Diagnostic Multivariate Index Assay (IVDMIA) to acquire market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (February 2007) provides information that helps physicians and patients to make more effective treatment decisions, which may include minimizing the use of chemotherapy, thereby avoiding serious potential side-effects. CupPrint* is an innovative diagnostic service that identifies the origin of the primary tumor in Cancer of Unknown Primary, which accounts for up to five percent of all new cancer referrals and is the fourth most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide.
“Having followed the development of MammaPrint and CupPrint*, we are excited about the opportunity for Ferrer inCode to expand the commercialization of these gene expression profiling tools in these four European countries,”
said Dr. Carlos de Lecea, vice president, International and Business Development at Ferrer.
“Both tests provide valuable information that can be used to guide the therapeutic decision making process of oncologists, opening the door to a more personalized treatment for cancer patients.”
The companies are also discussing the possibility of future cooperation and expansion into other parts of the world
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.
About Agendia
Agendia, located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is a world leader in gene expression analysis-based diagnostics with three products on the market. The company focuses on the development and commercialization of diagnostic tests using tumor gene expression profiling. Agendia was the first company to commercialize a prognostic test – MammaPrint – that predicts the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Agendia maintains close ties with several leading academic centers to develop state of the art diagnostic tests for cancer. Agendia also offers its expertise to pharma companies focusing on development of highly effective personalized drugs in the area of oncology. For more information on Agendia, please visit www.agendia.com.
* CupPrint* is based on a license to the TUO database of AviaraDx
For Agendia – EU & non-U.S.-based Media:
Dr. Bernhard Sixt
President and Chief Executive Officer
Agendia
+31204621520
communications@agendia.com
For Ferrer:
Olga Fidalgo
Corporate Director
BusinessDevelopment & Licensing
Grupo Ferrer International
ofidalgo@ferrergrupo.com
For Agendia – U.S. Media:
Kelly Connor
Vice President
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
+1.212.880.5328 Office
+1.609.221.5785 Mobile
Kelly.connor@ogilvypr.com