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HistoRx, Inc. Moves to Advance the Development and Commercialization of New Quantitative Tissue Based Diagnostic Tests; Three Industry Leaders Bring New Level of Expertise to Emerging Molecular Diagnostics Company

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 09:01 CST

HistoRx, Inc. announced today the expansion of its senior management team in order to advance the development and commercialization of the Company's first series of molecular diagnostic tests based on the AQUA(TM) platform. HistoRx has added three new industry leaders with extensive experience in the production and commercialization of protein biomarker discovery and diagnostic products. The new additions represent a significant increase in the company's effort to advance personalized medicine by stratifying patients and tailoring therapeutic regimes through improved predictive diagnostics.

The new team includes, Donna Marino, vice president of Diagnostics, Lorah Perlee, Ph.D, vice president of Technical Operations, and Robert Tuttle, M.Phil., director of Bioinformatics.

"Building upon the strong uptake of the AQUA(TM) quantitative pathology platform, this new team will accelerate the commercialization of our pipeline of molecular diagnostic tests with the launch of our first product in early 2008," noted Dr. Robert A. Curtis, president and chief executive officer of HistoRx. "Additionally in 2006, we plan to significantly expand upon our current pharmaceutical collaborations as well as seek additional partnerships to advance our product and technology development."

The Company has been developing a portfolio of new tissue-based molecular tests. The new management will focus on prioritization, development, and commercialization of the tests on the AQUA(TM) platform.

The AQUA(TM) platform represents the first integrated automated fluorescence-based imaging platform to identify and quantitate tissue biomarkers in high throughput tissue microarray format or in whole tissue slices. The AQUA(TM) platform simultaneously measures changes in expression levels of multiple protein biomarkers at the subcellular level while maintaining the spatial relationship between the targets of interest. The technology has direct opportunities to enhance the precision and speed of drug development, aid the selection of patient-specific drug therapy, and advance the application of quantitative pathology to improve patient care.

Donna Marino, Vice President of Diagnostics:

Ms. Marino will lead the diagnostics business unit and is responsible for hiring a team to bring the tests to market. Marino has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries.

Most recently, she served as a principle at Genomic Healthcare Strategies, a consulting group specializing in personalized medicine. She has worked with and for genomic, clinical, and consumer diagnostic companies including Orchid Biosciences, Biex, and Unipath as part of the Unite Acquisition Group. Prior to this, Marino has held senior management positions at Unilever, Grand Metropolitan, and Lederle Laboratories. Marino received a B.S. from the University of Colorado where she majored in Biology.

Lorah Perlee, Ph.D., Vice President of Technical Operations:

Dr. Perlee is responsible for oversight of core services at HistoRx, Inc. This includes establishing a GLP and CLIA service laboratory and expanding the utility of the AQUA(TM) technology through collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Perlee joins HistoRx from Protedyne, Inc., a provider of high-end laboratory automation, where she served as Director of Scientific Applications. Prior to this position, she served as Vice President of Operations, at Molecular Staging, Inc., a company directed at developing biomarkers for use in molecular diagnostics. She also held senior scientific positions at DiagXotics, Inc. and Lifecodes Corporation prior to its purchase by Orchid Diagnostics. Perlee received a B.S. in Biology from Cornell University, an M.S. in Forensic Science at John Jay College, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from New York Medical College.

Robert W. Tuttle, Director of Bioinformatics:

Mr. Tuttle will lead the commercial development of the AQUA(TM) technology platform. His new responsibilities include validation of the system and its attendant software at clinical standards; reviewing system architecture including all elements of data capture, analysis, presentation, and storage; and the initiation of planning and engineering activities for next generation systems.

Tuttle has more than 20 years of experience in informatics. He previously served as the group leader and bioinformatics systems manager at CuraGen Corporation, where he managed an Internet-based system to provide a unified portal for drug discovery, development, and laboratory workflow. Previous to this he held senior positions at Turbogenomics, Inc. and Gerber Scientific, Inc. Tuttle received a B.S. in Physics from Trinity College and an M.S. and M.Phil. in Computer Science from Yale University.

About HistoRx, Inc.

HistoRx, Inc. is introducing a new generation of advanced quantitative diagnostic products for research and clinical pathology markets based on the company's proprietary integrated tissue analysis platform, AQUA(TM), which the company developed from technology pioneered at the Yale University School of Medicine. Initially, HistoRx is providing contract services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries while selectively licensing its technologies to leading academic and not-for-profit research institutions. Simultaneously, the company is advancing development of proprietary fluorescence-based molecular diagnostic tests for use with its AQUA(TM) platform that will enable biologically based selection of patients who are most likely to benefit from specific therapies. HistoRx is based in New Haven, Conn. For more information, please visit www.historx.com.

Source: Business Wire

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