Cervius Receives Funding
From Inception Micro Angel Fund (IMAF)
Company
changes name to Onconix Inc. to reflect broadening of strategy to include
additional cancer biomarkers
Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, June 17, 2005 – Onconix Inc.
(formerly Cervius Inc.), announced today an investment from the Inception
Micro Angel Fund (IMAF). “This
investment will catalyze our efforts to expand our cancer diagnostic
portfolio beyond cervical cancer to include tests for prostate, breast,
ovarian, colon and other cancer types, said Eric Button, chairman of the
company. “We are implementing a very
aggressive company acquisition and licensing strategy to acquire various
cancer diagnostic technologies. The
goal is to rapidly increase critical mass to create a formidable company
force in the rapidly expanding field of cancer biomarkers.”
Company Changes Name to Onconix, Inc.
To reflect
this expansion of scope to include the development of tests for other cancer
types, the company has changed its name to Onconix Inc. With rampant investments made over the
last decade in genetic and protein marker discovery tools, a new generation
of cancer biomarker tests will be developed with improved accuracy for
diagnosing, monitoring and screening cancer. Given the experience of Onconix
management in developing and commercializing cancer diagnostic
technologies, including the very successful PSA prostate cancer test, the
company is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the rapid advances being
made in cancer biomarker technology field.
Final Patent Issued for Cervical Cancer
Blood Test
On May 10, 2005, the company
received notification of the final patent issuance from the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office for use of the CSATM (Cervical Specific
Antigen) blood test to detect cervical cancer. The new patent is entitled “Methods for
Determining Risk of Developing Cervical Cancer.” Several peer-reviewed
publications have demonstrated that the CSATM test can
accurately detect very early stages of cervical cancer and monitor therapy. The CSATM
test was originally developed by Dr. Subbi Mathur at the Medical University
of South Carolina (Charleston, SC) and later licensed exclusively to by
Bio-White Diagnostics, LLC (Columbia, SC) and Onconix Inc.
Clinical
studies indicate that the CSATM test, which measures a specific
protein in blood, is elevated in all cervical cancer patients and most
women with pre-cancerous cervical conditions compared to normal women – and
studies suggest that the CSATM test is not elevated in other
cancer types and other clinical conditions.
The blood test could be used for both screening for cervical cancer
and monitoring patients who already have cervical cancer.
About the Inception Micro Angel Fund
(IMAF)
The Inception Micro Angel Fund,
LLC (IMAF) is a member-managed seed stage angel capital fund designed to
capitalize on the growth in entrepreneurial activity and venture financing,
primarily in the Piedmont area of North Carolina,
greater North Carolina and in
selective areas of Virginia
and South Carolina. IMAF’s
strength lies in its members—a group of highly successful men and women,
primarily from the medical and dental communities within the Piedmont area
of North Carolina.
Contact: Eric Button, Chairman, Onconix Inc.
Dr. Scott Foster President &
CEO, Onconix Inc.
