Agendia and Ferrer inCode Expand MammaPrint(R) Distribution Agreement to Latin America
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California and AMSTERDAM, April 20, 2010 (ots/PRNewswire)- Agendia, a world leader in molecular cancer diagnostics, announced today it has closed an agreement with Ferrer inCode for the commercialization of Agendia's FDA-cleared breast cancer recurrence test MammaPrint in Latin America.
For the successful commercialization of MammaPrint, Ferrer inCode will leverage the distribution power of its mother company Grupo Ferrer Internacional, the leading Spanish pharmaceutical company in Latin America. Ferrer products are sold in 18 Latin American countries through subsidiaries, joint ventures and independent distributors. In key markets such as Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru, Ferrer is ranked either first or second in terms of distribution power.
"Capitalizing on Ferrer inCode's dominant position on the Iberian peninsula, we are delighted to expand our strong partnership and make MammaPrint available to doctors and patients in Latin America as well," said Bas van der Baan, Vice President Commercial Operation Europe/ROW of Agendia. "Ferrer has a strong presence in most of the Latin American key markets, most notably in rapidly emerging countries such as Brazil and Argentina, and has made great strides towards reimbursement in a number of Latin American countries."
About MammaPrint(R)
MammaPrint is the first and only breast cancer recurrence test cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA clearance under the in vitro diagnostic multivariate index assay (IVDMIA) guidelines requires clinical and analytical validation and reporting systems to ensure patient safety issues are addressed. Highly accurate, MammaPrint identifies patients with early metastasis risk - patients who are likely to develop metastases within five years following surgery. Several authoritative studies have shown that chemotherapy particularly reduces early metastasis risk. In planning treatment, the MammaPrint test results provide doctors with a clear rationale to assess the benefit of chemotherapy in addition to other clinical information and pathology tests.
All MammaPrint tests are conducted in Agendia's CAP-accredited and CLIA compliant service laboratories. Breast cancer recurrence assays currently marketed by other manufacturers have not been subject to the rigorous FDA clearance process.
About Agendia
Agendia is at the forefront of the personalized medicine revolution, striving to bring more effective, individualized treatments within reach of patients. Building on a cutting-edge genomics platform for tumor gene expression profiling, the company's tests help physicians more accurately tailor cancer treatments. Agendia markets four products, with several new genomic tests under development. In addition, Agendia collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to develop highly effective personalized drugs in the area of oncology. Agendia is based in Huntington Beach, California, and in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
About Ferrer inCode
Ferrer inCode is the biotech subsidiary of Grupo Ferrer Internacional, focused on personalized medicine by providing diagnostic orientation, prognosis and prediction services based on genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics platforms. The vision of Ferrer inCode is to help doctors make the most accurate clinical decisions for each patient through advanced biotechnological services. Ferrer is a privately held European R&D-based pharmaco-chemical and medical device company headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. Ferrer is the third largest Spanish pharma company in Spain, with sales and distribution in over 90 countries.
Contact:
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACTS: Hans Herklots, Head of Corporate
Communications,Agendia, +31-20-462-1557 Office, +31-620-083-509
Mobile,hans.herklots@agendia.com; Valerie Delva, Account Executive,
RicochetPublic Relations, +1-212-679-3300 x131 Office,
vdelva@ricochetpr.com; OlgaFidalgo, Corporate Director, Business
Development & Licensing, Grupo FerrerInternacional, +34-93-600-37-00
Switchboard, +34-93-600-38-67 Office,ofidalgo@ferrergrupo.com