Proteome Sciences' Licence Agreement with bioMerieux in Stroke

23 May 2006

Proteome Sciences is pleased to announce a licence agreement with bioMerieux to use its biomarkers in blood for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of stroke. These were discovered and validated using a combination of different proteomic approaches, all of which are available for external use through its proprietary ProteoSHOP® platform.

Stroke is one of the top three causes of death and its incidence in the seven major world markets is expected to increase in the next ten years because of an ageing population. Long term disability caused by stroke is a major economic burden on healthcare systems, current treatment options are limited and general awareness of stroke is poor.

Under the terms of the research licence bioMerieux will test Proteome Sciences' biomarkers for a stroke diagnostic panel across a well defined and sizeable patient population at a renowned neurological centre of excellence in Continental Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Christopher Pearce, CEO of Proteome Sciences, said:

"This is an important agreement for Proteome Sciences. bioMerieux is a major global player in clinical diagnostics and an ideal partner to take Proteome Sciences biomarkers into routine usage around the world in large central laboratories for high throughput testing."