PC-1 prostate cancer marker gene sequenced; Matritech's scientists, in collaboration with scientists at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, are first to confirm sequence of PC-1, known to be strongly correlated with prostate tumors, and first to characterize PC-1 as a protein known to be specifically over-expressed in cancer cells

Business Wire, June 26, 1995

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(HealthWire)--June 26, 1995--Matritech Inc. (NASDAQ:NMPS, BSE:MPS), a biotechnology company developing clinical products based upon cancer-specific Nuclear Matrix Proteins, today announced that its scientists have confirmed the DNA sequence of PC-1, a prostate cancer-specific Nuclear Matrix Protein (NMP).

This discovery should accelerate the development of an improved prostate cancer diagnostic, as well as enable the company to develop prostate cancer therapeutics.

"PC-1 has been reported in scientific literature to be an extremely reliable prostate-cancer marker: present in all the prostate tumors that were examined, and absent from all the respective normal prostate tissues," said Stephen D. Chubb, Matritech's chief executive officer. "Our scientists are the first to confirm its gene sequence, which encodes for a protein that is known to be specifically over-expressed in cancer cells," Chubb said.

"Obtaining a sufficient number of tumors for the isolation of PC-1 has been difficult. Now, Matritech will be able to make sufficient quantities of recombinant PC-1 protein and will be better positioned to be develop additional antibodies that will identify this cancer-specific marker," added Chubb. "This discovery is a significant milestones for Matritech in developing an improved test for prostate cancer."

PC-1 was first reported by Drs. Donald Coffey and Alan Partin of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in February 1993. Their article, which appeared in Cancer Research, reported that PC-1 was present in every prostate tumor that they examined but not present in any of the normal or benign prostate specimens.

Matritech, which has obtained exclusive rights from Johns Hopkins for the commercial, diagnostic and therapeutic use of PC-1, has been developing novel in vitro diagnostic products to more accurately detect prostate cancer. To support that work, Matritech was awarded a national Cancer Institute SBIR grant in December 1993 to develop antibodies suitable for in vitro diagnostic tests. A final report detailing the completion of that work was submitted to the National Cancer Institute in April of this year. Based on this progress, Matritech has submitted for a Phase II grant to complete the development of the diagnostic product.

Matritech also was awarded another National Cancer Institute SBIR grant in March 1995 to develop therapeutic agents for prostate cancer based on PC-1 technology.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among males, with increasing numbers of new cases reported each year. Approximately 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer were 4iagnosed in the United States in 1993, and 38,000 men died of the disease. It is estimated there are approximately 165,000 new cases diagnosed each year in Europe and 5,000 new cases diagnosed annually in Japan.

Matritech Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass., is using its proprietary nuclear matrix protein (NMP) technology, discovered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and licensed exclusively to Matritech, to develop and commercialize innovative serum-, cell- and urine-based NMP diagnostics that enable physicians to reliably detect and monitor the presence of bladder, breast, colorectal, cervical and prostate cancers.

CONTACT: Matritech Inc.

Stephen D. Chubb, 617/661-6660

or

Ronald Trahan Associates

Ronald C. Trahan, 508/651-1180