Biomoda joins Saccomanno Research Institute to advance CyPath technology for cancer detection

Cancer diagnostics company Biomoda, Inc. (OTCBB: BMOD) (www.biomoda.com) is working with the Saccomanno Research Institute to advance Biomoda's patented system for measuring the photon emission rate of CyPath®-stained cells to detect early-stage lung cancer.

“Under the direction of Dr. Marty Jacobson, the Saccomanno Institute will provide expertise needed for the pivotal clinical study, which is the next step toward commercializing the CyPath® technology as a cancer screening tool appropriate for large populations”

Biomoda's CyPath® labeling solution for the early detection of cancers is based on meso-tetra (4 carboxyphenyl) porphine or TCPP, a porphyrin compound that binds to cancer cells and fluoresces under specific frequencies of light. Participants in Biomoda's pilot clinical study, which is nearing completion, provided deep-lung sputum samples to be labeled with the CyPath® solution and viewed under fluorescent microscopy. The samples are also screened for cancer with Pap stain analysis and CT scans. Pending FDA approval, CyPath® is for investigational use only.

"It is especially appropriate that Biomoda is working with the Saccomanno Research Institute since its namesake, the late Dr. Geno Saccomanno, pioneered the development of sputum cytology for the early detection of lung cancer," said John Cousins, President of Biomoda. Working at St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, Saccomanno originally focused on the prevalence of lung cancer in the uranium miners who lived in the area. He conducted nearly 50 years of research on the diagnostic applications of sputum cytology.

"Under the direction of Dr. Marty Jacobson, the Saccomanno Institute will provide expertise needed for the pivotal clinical study, which is the next step toward commercializing the CyPath® technology as a cancer screening tool appropriate for large populations," Cousins said. "We are delighted that Dr. Jacobson's laboratory has joined our pivotal study team."