RICHMOND, British Columbia, March 25, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- BioCurex Inc. (OTCBB:BOCX) announced today that the European Patent Office (EPO) has granted the Company's patent claims for cancer diagnostic serum tests based on the RECAF marker.
This significant event highlights a greater revenue potential for BioCurex:
* In our License agreements, 'granted' patent claims generate a
significantly higher royalty than 'pending' claims for any given
country.
* In Europe, cancer markers are more commonly used and supported by
the medical insurance system in comparison to other territories.
* Approval by regulatory agencies in Europe is arguably faster and
easier than by the FDA. As a result, companies may launch
diagnostic tests in Europe before the USA.
A "continuation in part" patent application (also referred to as a "divisional") has been filed with the EPO in relation to therapy and imaging applications of RECAF, which indicates that claims related to those fields continue to be "pending".
Dr. Moro, BioCurex's President and CEO stated: "This is great news for us. A granted patent in Europe can result in greater revenue potential via our licensees. It also favors the commercialization of our manual serum tests (Serum-RECAF-M)(tm), since a general opinion in the industry is that it is easier (and less expensive) to obtain approval for diagnostic devices in Europe than in the USA. One opportunity under consideration for distribution of the tests would be to obtain approval for the entire EU and then license or sign distribution agreements with leading medical products suppliers for individual countries. In this fashion, we would add smaller, but more numerous product outlets, rather than having a limited number of very large semi-exclusive licensees."
Dr. Moro added: "It is very important to understand the RECAF technology in detail in order to file patents based on the knowledge thus acquired. Pending approval of our patent, we have delayed publishing results in scientific journals since this would require us to supply extensive information so the studies can be reproduced by other scientists. Publishing certain critical information prior to receiving the approval for our patent would constitute 'prior art' that could interfere with the claim for a patent."
We are currently writing new patent applications based on the knowledge gained in the past two years. These patents -- which relate to the serum tests, the rapid tests and the RECAF chemistry in general -- should not only add value to BioCurex, but will also extend the patent protection provided by our current patents for the next two decades. We must keep thinking and acting with the long term benefit of the Company in mind; and we are thankful for the understanding and patient support of our shareholders. The efforts are paying off!"
About BioCurex:
BioCurex, Inc. is a biotechnology company that is developing products based on patented/proprietary technology in the areas of cancer diagnosis, imaging and therapy. The technology identifies a cancer marker known as RECAF(tm), which is found on malignant cells from a variety of cancer types but is absent in most normal or benign cells.
To read more about the Company, please visit the News section in our web site (http://www.biocurex.com).
Note:
The Company has not authorized the release of this information in any form that contravenes the Communication Act and will not be responsible for unsolicited massive distribution of this material by e-mail or facsimile by unauthorized parties. Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning given to that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.