Radient Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a US-based pharmaceutical company, announced today it has entered into a collaboration agreement through its wholly owned subsidiary AMDL Diagnostics, Inc. (ADI) with CeTeCancer -- a Chilean-based research laboratory -- to validate the effectiveness of Radient Pharmaceuticals' Onko-Sure(TM) in vitro diagnostic (IVD) cancer test as an early detection and prevention test for lung cancer.
ADI and CeTeCancer will collaborate on a research project entitled "Early Detection and Prevention of Lung Cancer Using Recent Advances in Genomics and Imagen" using the Onko-Sure(TM) cancer test kit. The purpose of the research project is to identify an effective early-detection and prevention program for lung cancer. CeTeCancer will provide clinical samples and perform all clinical testing. The research project is supported by INNOVA CORFO and will run for 18 months with final results anticipated to be published in early 2011.
"We are delighted to enter into this partnership with a highly innovative scientific group working to detect and potentially prevent the deadly and worldwide spread of lung cancer," said Mr. Douglas MacLellan, Chairman and CEO of Radient Pharmaceuticals. "The expected results of this project should significantly accelerate the international commercialization of Onko-Sure(TM) and bring Radient Pharmaceuticals one step closer to securing its leadership position in the cancer IVD test market."
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1.2 million cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year establishing it as the 1 deadliest cancer worldwide. Lung cancer causes more deaths globally than colon, prostate and breast cancer combined and the disease accounts for the largest number of new cancer cases and deaths annually, with a single patient dying from the disease every 30 seconds. In 2008, approximately 1.52 million new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed worldwide, with 1.31 million people dying from the disease (WHO), and in the United States, an estimated 161,840 deaths, accounting for 29 percent of all cancer deaths, occurred in 2008, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Through its lung cancer research collaboration with CeTeCancer, Radient Pharmaceuticals is working to improve detection and prevention of the disease using Onko-Sure.
In the USA Onko-Sure has been cleared for the monitoring of colorectal cancer by the US FDA (July 2008). ADI continues to expand its commercialization of Onko-Sure(TM) in select international markets.