Biotechnology Grant Award Launches Metabiomics Human Microbiome Commercialization Initiative
Potomac Falls, Virginia – November 5, 2010: Metabiomics, a human microbiome biomarker discovery and molecular diagnostics company, announced that that it was awarded a grant by the Department of Health and Human Services under the highly competitive Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) Program. Metabiomics was awarded a $244,000 QTDP grant for its pioneering research and development on projects in 2009 and 2010 on “Human Microbiome Biomarker Discovery and Molecular Diagnostics”.
This clinical research project involved the discovery of human microbiome molecular biomarkers and development of In-Vitro diagnostics tests for chronic gastrointestinal and autoimmune diseases with emphasis on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Colorectal Cancer. The research was conducted in collaboration with the GMU Microbiome Analysis Center, Rush Medical University, VCU School of Medicine, and others leading medical centers.
Dr. Patrick Gillevet, Chief Scientist of Metabiomics and Director of the GMU Microbiome Analysis Center stated that “The project was designed for discovery of human microbiome molecular biomarkers, molecular pathways, and interactions with the human genome utilizing next-generation DNA sequencing technology for development of non-invasive and economical IVD’s for involved autoimmune and gastrointestinal diseases including applications to companion diagnostics, personalized medical decisions, and new drug development.”
“The project and the QTDP grant has really energized our pipeline of molecular biomarkers and diagnostic tests for diagnosis of IBD, IBS, colon polyps, and colorectal cancer as well on-going collaborative clinical research into research of alcoholic liver disease, obesity, oral mycobiome, hepatic encephalopathy, and others supported by on-going NIH research grants”, said Dr. Thomas Kuehn, President and CEO of Metabiomics. “The QTDP funds will allow us to accelerate the clinical research and start the transition to commercialization our human microbiome inventions into products and services.”
The QTDP was enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The grant is intended as a tax benefit targeted to therapeutic discovery projects that show promise to treat areas of unmet medical need or prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute diseases and conditions, reduce the long-term growth of health care costs in the US, or significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within 30 years.
The importance of the QTDP to early stage life sciences companies was highlighted by by Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins in announcing $1 billion in awards yesterday in Washington DC. NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said that “These grants made possible by the Affordable Care Act will not only help to create jobs and bolster the economy but also bring us closer to the next generation of life-saving cures.”
Mark A. Herzog, executive director of the Virginia Biotechnology Association (VaBIO) commented later that “The Therapeutic Discovery Credit provides America’s most advanced, cutting-edge companies critical resources to invest in research, purchase new equipment and to hire more people.”
ABOUT METABIOMICS: Metabiomics® is an innovative life science company providing next generation DNA sequencing, biomarker discovery and molecular diagnostic products and services based on advances in human microbiome, metagenomics, systems biology, and bioinformatics technology. We have developed patent-pending MultiTag SequencingTM (“MTS”), molecular diagnostic (“MDx”), and therapeutic biomarkers for translational and personalized medicine, including a patented non-invasive MDx method for colon diseases and colorectal cancer. Metabiomics products and services provide essential NGS and bioinformatics tools required for human microbiome clinical research and transitional medicine. Our technology enables significant MDx and therapeutic breakthroughs in heretofore chronic and often-incurable diseases like colorectal cancer, colon disease, autoimmune, and polymicrobial diseases. These innovations were developed over the past 10 years in collaboration with the Microbiome Analysis Center at George Mason University and many other clinical research partners with leading academic medical centers in the US and Canada. Our non-invasive MDx tests are based on multiple biomarkers that trace the etiological pathways of disease that results in the earliest possible detection, unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy, and lower costs compared to traditional tests. Metabiomics Corporation was formed in 2011 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BioSpherex LLC human to accelerate the commercialization of our pipeline microbiome technology and biomarkers in the GI, autoimmune, polymicrobial infectious disease and personalized medicine markets.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Any statements in this news release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including statements about clinical trials and core operations funding, are based on Metabiomics’ management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. We caution investors that actual results or business conditions may differ materially from those projected or suggested in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.