UNIVERSITY NEWS - JANUARY 2004

MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin Petrovsky
561-297-0007, kpetrovs@fau.edu

FAU Receives Patent In Detection Of Colon Cancer

BOCA RATON, FL (January 27, 2003). Dr. Ramaswamy Narayanan, a research professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University announced patent approval this week for a novel approach for the detection of colon cancer. The patent is the result of four-and-a-half years of research to isolate and prove the findings.

Using information from mapping the human genome and bioinformatics to analyze the data, Dr. Narayanan isolated a colon cancer-specific secreted gene. The presence of this gene can be detected in blood, serum, urine, stool and tissue samples. “Because there are no markers for colon cancer, detection of this cancer must be accomplished through expensive and invasive procedures such as endoscopy, colonoscopy and biopsy,” said Dr. Narayanan. “The isolation of this gene may lead to the first noninvasive detection procedure for this cancer.”

By creating a noninvasive diagnostic test, such as a blood or urine test, affordable and easy detection of this disease would be available for large sectors of the population. By making affordable early detection available on a large scale, treatment and recovery rates for this cancer should increase dramatically. Dr. Narayanan’s lab will now focus on the development of an antibody test. An antibody test will detect a protein produced by this gene similar to other antibody tests already in use, such as the antibody test available for the detection of breast cancer.

“Now that the patent has been approved, we will look to secure additional private funding and establish a licensing agreement with a pharmaceutical company so that we can move forward with FDA approval,” says Dr. Narayanan. “The most important thing at this point is to reach the patient as soon as possible.”

This is not Dr. Narayanan’s first discovery at FAU. His lab has isolated genes specific to pancreatic and colon cancer, and last year he successfully tested a drug for human colon cancer in the laboratory. He and his team are now designing a drug using second-generation antisense technology which inhibits the gene from producing the proteins needed for a tumor to grow.

-FAU-

Florida Atlantic University has made important advances in biomedical and biotechnology research over the past five years. Attracting internationally recognized researchers like Dr. Narayanan has greatly advanced FAU’s stature as a research institution. FAU’s advances have attracted partners to the institution including the University of Miami School of Medicine, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and, most recently, the Scripps Research Institute. Discoveries have also resulted in FAU’s first spin-off biotechnology company – Forsetti Biosciences.