Potential New Blood Test and Treatment for Breast Cancer

Announced by Sialix, Inc. and Researchers at The University

of California, San Diego
The team discovered that anti-Neu5Gc antibodies could be key to predicting cancer risk, for
diagnosing cancer cases early and in high concentration, used as a treatment for suppressing tumor
growth. Varki and his colleagues published in Nature Biotechnology, 7/25/10, he demonstrated that
Neu5Gc in biotech drugs manufactured in animal cell lines prompts the human immune system to
produce an anti-Neu5Gc.
The antigen detected for breast cancer in the current paper arises from dietary Neu5Gc
incorporation into the cancer marker Sialyl-Tn. They sampled 385 human blood samples and
discovered that patients with carcinomas have elevated levels of antibodies to one specific Neu5Gc-
containing sugar chain that incorporates into the cancer marker Sialyl-Tn. At the heart of the
research is Neu5Gc, a non-human sugar molecule which humans get through their diet, specifically
through the consumption of red meat and dairy. The findings focus on using antibodies towards a
non-human sugar molecule (Neu5Gc) commonly found in people and is obtained primarily through a
diet of red meat. In previous studies by Dr. Collaborators include researchers from the groups of Xi
Chen at UC Davis, Inder Verma at the Salk Institute and scientists from Sialix, Inc. Understanding
how lower levels of antibodies stimulate cancer growth while strong responses can kill cancer cells
will be critical to moving this approach safely into cancer treatment."
Sialix, originally founded as Gc-Free, Inc, is a pioneer in Glycobiology, founded by leading
researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), specializing in Sialic acid research,
discovery and technology platform solutions for industry and biopharm. Chokhawala, Hongzhi Cao
and Xi Chen, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis; Dinorah Friedmann-
Morvinski, Oded Singer and Inder M. It is the first example of a biomarker in the form of human
"xeno-autoantibodies" to a dietary molecule. "It is likely a combination of signaling immune cells to
kill cancer cells and antibodies directly killing cells by recruiting other proteins in the body. a
pioneer in glycobiology, today announced the results of a study it participated in with researchers at
the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine that could have significant impact in the
prediction, early detection and treatment of cancer in humans. "The identification and measurement
of a biomarker utilizing one specific non-human sugar molecule that is present in essentially all
humans may revolutionize cancer care and well lead to the early detection of certain cancers
employing a patient's blood sample." He continued, "There is more work to be done and we have
already begun further research in the areas of breast, colon and prostate cancers with support and
funding by the National Cancer Institute."
The study was done by leading researchers in the field and led by Richard Schwab, MD, Assistant
Professor of Medicine, and Ajit Varki, MD, Professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular
Medicine, with other faculty at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and the UCSD Glycobiology
Research and Training Center. Verma, Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
. The scientists then found that introducing purified human anti-Neu5Gc antibodies may have
immunotherapeutic potential: they specifically kill Neu5Gc-expressing mouse or human tumors
when applied at higher concentrations.
The results were published today online in Cancer Research, (See Release: "A Cancer Marker and
Treatment in One? UC San Diego Researchers Find Promise in Non-Human Sialic Acid Antibodies.")
"Precisely how therapeutic antibodies work in patients remains unclear, even in therapies already
approved by the Food and Drug Administration," said Richard Schwab, MD, who co-led the overall
research study. The study showed that a blood test of antibodies to one specific Neu5Gc-containing
sugar chain could be used to diagnose breast cancer about as effectively as the standard PSA test
which is used to test for prostate cancer today.
About Sialix, Inc.
Co-authors of the paper are Vered Padler-Karavani, Patrick Secrest, Yu-Tsueng Liu and Karen
Messer of the UCSD Glycobiology Research and Training Center and UCSD Moores Cancer Center;
Nancy Hurtado-Ziola and Darius Ghaderi, Sialix, Inc., Vista, CA; Hai Yu, Shengshu Huang, Saddam
Muthana, Harshal A. Sialix maintains the exclusive rights to the commercialization of the biomarker
and therapeutic applications of the research.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110419005576/en/Potential-Blood-Test-Treatment-Breas
t-Cancer-Announced
VISTA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sialix, Inc. Our mission is to provide pure, more effective
biotheraputics through the detection, measurement, and elimination of foreign Sialic acids (Neu5Gc
or NGNA) that have been linked to causing chronic inflammation that can lead to disease. For more
information's go to www.sialix.com.
"This promising research could change how cancer is detected and treated in humans," said Sundar
Subramanian, CEO of Sialix, Inc