Ciphergen, University of Texas form collaboration to develop Hepatitis C blood test

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Nov. 21 - Ciphergen Biosystems Inc. said it has signed a research and collaboration agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to develop a diagnostic blood test to measure the progress of liver disease and thus reduce the need for painful and costly biopsies of the liver in Hepatitis C patients.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ciphergen will provide its suite of proteomic solutions, designed for biomarker discovery and development of assays, to analyze clinical samples collected at the university.

The collaboration gives Ciphergen the first option to negotiate an exclusive license for discoveries made during the agreement., the company said.

University of Texas researchers John R. Petersen and Ned Snyder hope that biomarkers identified by Ciphergen's ProteinChip Array-based Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry system, when combined with routine clinical laboratory testing, could be used to identify patients at risk of severe liver damage caused by Hepatitis C.

"The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is a major medical and research center for the study and treatment of infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and hepatitis B viruses, which can lead to liver fibrosis and potentially to liver cancer. We are very pleased to be collaborating to achieve our mutual goals to develop novel diagnostics in the field of hepatology," Ciphergen president and chief operating officer Gail Page said in a company news release.

Chronic hepatitis C affects about 3 million adults in the United States, the company said. Physicians use liver biopsies to identify whether treatment is necessary.

Fremont, Calif.-based Ciphergen develops protein biomarkers, panels of biomarkers and protein molecular diagnostic tests for disease diagnosis, prognosis, treatment response and for improved drug toxicology, efficacy and clinical trial stratification assays to speed pharmaceutical development.

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