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Communications & Public Affairs
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New Investment Made in Genetic Breast Cancer Research
Company is Led by UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Professor
New Brunswick, NJ—Progress in genetic cancer research led by a scientist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has led to a new investment in the potentially groundbreaking technique being studied. GeneAssess, Inc., a New Jersey-based biotechnology company founded by Dr. Helmut Zarbl, a professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the school, , has received a commitment of up to $500,000 from Foundation Venture Capital Group (FVCG), Inc. The funds will be used to validate FRY, a cancer molecular signature gene discovered by GeneAssess scientists that could provide a more accurate diagnostic biomarker for cancer staging.
According to James M. Golubieski, president of FVCG, the company invested in GeneAssess because the FRY gene appears to be found in the breast cancer model but also shows potential for other cancers.
In research performed to date, mutations in the gene increase rat susceptibility to mammary cancer and FRY reduced the growth of highly aggressive human breast cancer cells in animal models.
GeneAssess plans to use the investment to validate FRY as a predictive biomarker for breast and other cancers, to detect genetic mutations in at-risk populations and to explore target validation for FRY.
The company has an exclusive license to the intellectual property developed by Dr. Zarbl.
“Our findings suggest that FRY could potentially be used as a platform to develop cancer gene-based susceptibility tests, for disease progression and for tumor grading,” explained Dr. Zarbl, who also is a member of the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), which is a joint Institute of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University and the Associate Director for Public Health Science at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. “This tumor suppressor gene could be useful for developing new targeted drugs, especially for the treatment of aggressive and/or advanced breast cancer.”
Dr. Zarbl’s research team has found that:
- While rats with a normal FRY gene do not develop mammary cancer when exposed to carcinogens during puberty, rats carrying a mutant FRY gene are highly susceptible;
- Many human breast cancer cells expressed decreased levels of FRY and that putting the gene back into these tumor cells allowed them to return to a more normal state and prevented tumor growth; and
- Reduced FRY expression in breast cancers and many other cancer types is associated with more aggressive tumor growth and may predict poor clinical outcomes.
Despite substantial advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, this disease still accounts for one third of all female cancers in western countries.
“We see great promise in Dr. Zarbl’s discovery of the FRY gene and how it might be used to affect the diagnosis and treatment of aggressive breast cancers,” noted Dr. George F. Heinrich, vice chair and CEO of Foundation Venture Capital Group. “We are looking forward to working with him to advance his work and help to bring his ideas to commercialization.”
About UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find us online at www.Facebook.com/RWJMS and www.twitter.com/UMDNJ_RWJMS.
