By: Dylan Sikes - AllPennyStocks.com News

Friday, November 1, 2013

There’s a lot of buzz in the biotechnology arena lately surrounding colon cancer, especially related to the Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog, better known as the KRAS gene. The gene is important as it is integral in making the K-Ras protein that is involved in regulating cell division. Cancer, in its simplest sense, is cell division gone wild, so that explains why genes involved in the cell division process are critical in controlling cancer. In many cancers, regardless of origin, genes are mutated in some fashion, prohibiting them from accurately performing vital functions. It’s notable that it’s not true in every case, as exemplified recently by Merck KGaA to narrow the indication for its advanced colon cancer drug Erbitux for the treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-expressing tumors without a mutation in the KRAS gene. Several companies are making big strides in molecular diagnostics, an industry that has grown about 70 percent to $6.2 billion in the past six years. Trovagene, Inc. (Nasdaq:TROV) is making headlines with its urine analysis technologies and upstart Aethlon Medical Inc. (OTCQB:AEMD) has popped on the scene with tools to detect and quantify exosomes in biological fluid to identify a range of diseases.

Transgenomic, Inc. (OTCBB:TBIO), an international biotech with its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, is another junior making waves with its advancements in personalized medicine in the fields of oncology, cardiology and inherited diseases. The company operates through three divisions, including a business focused on diagnostic testing.

Shares are on the rise in Friday trading upon news that Transgenomic has inked a deal with PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI), a multi-billion dollar S&P 500 company with more than 7,500 employees canvassing in excess of 150 countries. PerkinElmer provides products, services and solutions to the diagnostics, research, environmental, industrial and laboratory services market. 2012 revenues were approximately $2.1 billion.

The new collaboration agreement between Transgenomic and PerkinElmer gives PKI non-exclusive rights for marketing, distribution and field service activities of Transgenomic’s line of molecular diagnostic oncology products, including CRC RAScan and ACE kits for use on the PerkinElmer LabChip MultiDx platform. The agreement covers everywhere in the world outside of the United States. PKI’s LabChip MultiDx platform is an advanced nucleic acid separations system, utilizing PerkinElmer’s microfluidics technology serving a variety of functions, including RQS and RNA analysis, amongst other things.

Transgenomic’s CRC RAScan is a single-kit solution designed to screen for selected KRAS and NRAS (neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog) mutations in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The scan is a first-in-class test to detect the full range of RAS mutation that are relevant to a poor response to EGFR inhibitors, providing doctors with more information about selecting treatments for metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

“[PerkinElmer is] the ideal commercial collaborator for our oncology genetic testing portfolio outside of the US. This portfolio addresses a growing breadth of genetic markers important to assessing risk, prognosis and treatment of a variety of cancers,” commented Paul Kinnon, president and chief executive of Transgenomic, in a statement today.

This latest agreement with a blue chip company comes on the heals of an October 15 announcement from Transgenomic that it reached a collaboration agreement with PDI, Inc. (Nasdaq:PDII) granting PDI the rights to commercialize CarioPredict, a molecular diagnostic test which identifies genes that can influence the efficacy and safety of approved cardiovascular drugs.

Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Investors will be watching for the impact of these new collaborations on upcoming sales and profits. In the second quarter, revenue contracted to $7.3 million from $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2012, and net loss widened to $2.9 million, or 3 cents per share, versus $600,000, or 1 cent per share, in the year prior quarter. Third-quarter results are scheduled to be delivered on November 6.

Investors are viewing the news as highly favorable, with shares of TBIO surging in October from 37 cents to highs of 62 cents for gains of 68 percent. Shares closed Thursday at 55 cents, but are back on the rise in early trading, printing 60 cents less than one hour into the session.

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