Protea expands clinical study for new melanoma test

Protea Biosciences Group announced that it has expanded its clinical research study for its new molecular imaging test for the differential diagnosis of malignant melanoma. The study has now surpassed 250 patient samples.

The proprietary assay is based on technology that was developed jointly by Rossitza Lazova, MD, and Erin Seeley, PhD, and exclusively licensed from Yale University School of Medicine.  The test identifies unique sets of proteins in standard biopsy samples that differentiate malignant melanoma from benign moles.  To date the clinical study has analyzed over 200 patient samples that were classified at 96% accuracy.

"We are to see the continued positive results of the expanded study," stated David Halverson, pleased Protea's President.  "These results demonstrate our ability to use our proprietary mass spectrometry-based technology, together with pathologist review, to increase overall confidence in melanoma diagnosis, especially in cases that may be difficult to diagnose with traditional microscopic methods."

Protea plans to continue to expand the total patient number as part of its Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) validation process over the course of this year.