Jivan Receives NIH Grant to Profile Alternative Splicing of Kinases in Cancer

Berkeley, CA (December 12, 2003) -- Jivan Biologics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, today announced its receipt of an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Cancer Institute to apply its patent-pending TransExpress™ platform for the molecular profiling of cancer. Over the course of this research project, the company will screen the complete sterile kinase subfamily to identify splice isoforms implicated in breast, colon and prostate cancers.

In a previous SBIR Phase I grant from the National Cancer Institute, Jivan Biologics applied its TransExpress™ platform to a set of genes and splice isoforms in colon normal and colon tumor samples. The company's findings successfully confirmed literature findings while identifying novel splicing patterns specific to tumor.

"We're pleased that the National Cancer Institute has recognized the potential to profile, diagnose and ultimately treat cancers based on specific splice isoforms," said Subha Srinivasan, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Jivan Biologics. "By screening a larger number of genes involved in colon, breast and prostate cancer along with their spliced products, we believe we can achieve a more accurate understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these complex and heterogeneous diseases, and ultimately treat them with more precisely targeted therapeutics."

To fulfill this research project, Jivan Biologics will mine literature and sequence databases to identify the most comprehensive set of spliced products available for the sterile kinase subfamily. Then the company will design microarrays to detect the spliced products and screen them against multiple patient samples of normal and tumor cells to identify tumor-specific splice isoforms. The company will evaluate the potential of these isoforms as diagnostics, biomarkers and targets. Through downstream development, either independently or in collaboration, the company may further validate candidate targets with the intent to partner with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for diagnostic or therapeutic development in oncology.

Jivan Biologics is a pioneer of high-throughput solutions to measure alternative splicing in vitro. Jivan Biologics' flagship TransExpress™ microarrays for alternative splicing provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners with greater precision and accuracy in disease profiling by comprehensively measuring the expression and changes in RNA splicing across entire protein families and pathways. For more information, please visit www.jivanbio.com.