Genomic Vision

Regulatory Filings • Aug 25, 2014

Press release August 25, 2014

GENOMICS | DIAGNOSTIC TESTS | GENETICS | R&D

Genomic Vision has presented the first results of its HPV detection test at the HPV 2014 conference in Seattle

Molecular combing has enabled the integration of high-risk papillomavirus DNA in patients' genomes to be detected

Bagneux (France) - Genomic Vision (FR0011799907 – GV / PEA-PME eligible), a molecular diagnosis company that specializes in the development of diagnostic tests for genetic diseases and cancers using the DNA molecular combing process, today announces that the first results of its development program for a test to detect the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in cervical cancer were presented in the form of a poster at the 29th edition of the HPV conference (International Papillomavirus Conference and Clinical & Public Health Workshops), which was held in Seattle (USA) from August 21 to 25, 2014.

Cervical cancer resulting from an infection of the cervix by HPV is the 2nd most common form of cancer among women, just behind breast cancer. Each year, almost 500,000 new cases and between 250,000 and 300,000 deaths are recorded worldwide. Its development can be halted with a very favorable prognosis (5-year survival rate of 90%) when the lesions that precede it are detected sufficiently early. So far, the screening, diagnosis and survival of patients have been essentially based on cervical smears, colposcopies and biopsies.

The integration of HPV viral DNA in the genome of the infected cell being a major stage in the progression of tumors, the test currently being developed by Genomic Vision aims to directly detect not only the presence of viral DNA, but also its integration in the infected cell genome. This HPV integration cannot be directly detected by existing tests.

The preliminary results have shown that molecular combing technology allows the direct and high-resolution visualization of the integration of high-risk HPV genomes (HPV16 and HPV18 as unique or tandem array) in the cervical-cancer-derived cell lines and in the cervical smears of patients with lesions at various stages of the disease's evolution.

These results also highlight the possibility of exploring the integration of high-risk HPV genomes at individual locus level, such as that of the c-Myc oncogene involved in controlling cellular proliferation.

Aaron Bensimon, Genomic Vision's co-founder and Chairman, says: "These preliminary results of our HPV test give us real confidence regarding the pursuance of its clinical validation. Indeed, they show that molecular combing can enhance screening and help identify the HPV infections with the highest risk and hence enable patients to be steered towards the most suitable treatment, therefore avoiding the need for unnecessary, invasive and expensive colposcopies."