diaDexus Inc and Emory University have entered into a collaboration to further evaluate the biological role of Nox-1, a novel cancer target and enzyme known to convert oxygen into "reactive oxygen." As part of the collaboration, diaDexus will have the exclusive right to develop and commercialize therapeutic and diagnostic products targeting or otherwise based on Nox-1. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Reactive oxygen species are created during cellular metabolism and include molecules such as hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and superoxide. They have been implicated in both cellular damage and cell to cell communication. In addition to its enzymatic function as an oxidase, Nox-1 is also a transmembrane protein that appears to be significantly more abundant on the surface of certain solid tumors compared to normal tissue. Therefore, the collaboration will also focus on the role of Nox-1 in colorectal cancer and other solid tumors.

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine, led by J. David Lambeth, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, have reported that the additional production of the Nox-1 protein in mouse cells resulted in the important observation that the cells became cancer-like and proliferated more rapidly than normal cells. When injected into mice, these transformed cells were extremely tumorogenic.

In addition, research recently published in the January 22, 2002 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by scientists at Emory and Harvard Medical School establishes that Nox-1 is a potent trigger of angiogenesis, which is the growth of microscopic blood vessels. Angiogenesis serves many physiological and pathological roles, including nourishing cancerous cells that leads to unregulated cell growth and tumor formation.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Dr. Lambeth, a renowned expert in the biology of reactive oxygen and its effects on cellular processes, and his distinguished team at Emory," said Ron Lindsay, Chief Scientific Officer of diaDexus. "They have generated compelling data linking Nox-1 overexpression and generation of reactive oxygen to tumor growth. This program builds on our own internal studies linking Nox-1 overexpression with colon cancer."

Said Dr. Lambeth, "We are excited and optimistic about the prospects of using Nox-1 as both a diagnostic marker and as a therapeutic target for treatment of colon cancer. We feel fortunate to have found in diaDexus such an enthusiastic, insightful and energetic collaborator, and look forward to working with them to move this technology forward."