Rosetta Genomics, Ltd has announced the commercial availability of its second diagnostic test, miRview™ mets. The test is now commercially available through Rosetta Genomics CLIA-certified lab in Philadelphia.

The test identifies 25 different tumor types, including, but not limited to, those from the following tissue origins: colon, brain, breast, kidney, liver, lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate, and testis. The test leverages proprietary microRNA technology developed by Rosetta Genomics, and measures the expression level of 48 microRNA biomarkers in the tumor.

This is Rosetta Genomics’ second commercially available microRNA-based test, following the introduction of miRview squamous last week. The company expects miRview meso, a test differentiating mesothelioma from adenocarcinoma in the lung, to soon be commercially available.
By the end of 2008, Rosetta Genomics expects to be able to offer three microRNA-based tests.

"Rosetta Genomics has made a commitment to deliver its first three microRNA-based tests by the end of the year, and today we are just days away from fully delivering on our promise," said Amir Avniel, CEO and President of Rosetta Genomics. "Today, we are announcing the availability of miRview mets, a test which leverages our proprietary microRNA-based technologies to identify the primary origin of a metastasis. Our scientists are currently finalizing miRview meso, and expect it to be added to our test offerings by the end of the year. We believe our recently introduced miRview tests will play a key role in enhancing patient care worldwide."

The test’s high confidence predictions reach 90% sensitivity with 99% specificity and this relates to the majority cases.

"In contrast to current methods for identifying a metastasis’ origin, which may include a wide range of costly, time consuming, and at times inefficient tests, miRview mets provides the physician with an accurate identification of the tumor’s origin," noted Dr Ranit Aharonov, Executive Vice President R&D, Head of Computational Biology at Rosetta Genomics. "We have designed miRview mets so that it follows a clear biological rationale and it utilizes a relatively small number of molecular markers which makes it both a robust and a transparent assay."

In the US, hundreds of thousands of patients are diagnosed each year with a cancer that has already metastasized. Oncologists and pathologists are constantly faced with a diagnostic dilemma when trying to identify the primary origin of a patient’s metastasis. As metastases need to be treated according to their primary origin, accurate identification of the metastases’ primary origin can be critical for determining appropriate treatment.

For approximately 70,000 patients each year in the US alone, the primary origin of the metastases is never identified, and the patient’s cancer is labeled "Cancer of Unknown Primary" (CUP). Rosetta Genomics developed the test to apply the benefits of microRNA biomarkers for the identification of tumor origin.

"Joining miRviewsquamous, miRview mets is yet another great example of how the benefits of our microRNA biomarkers can be applied in molecular diagnostics," said Dr Ayelet Chajut, Executive Vice President R&D, Head of Molecular Biology at the company. "The introduction of our first tests in a relatively short timeframe attests to our strong R&D capabilities and was made possible by the work of our dedicated scientists."

Rosetta Genomics will host a conference call with a simultaneous Web cast to discuss the future launch of its products today, Monday December 22, at 8:30 am EST.

To access the live conference call, US and Canadian participants may dial  (866) 966-5335; international participants may dial +44 (20) 3023-4460. To access the 24-hour audio replay, U.S. and Canadian participants may dial 1-866-583-1035; international participants may dial +44-20-8196-1998. The live Web cast will also be available on the "Investors" section of the company’s Web site. An archived Web cast will be available for 30 days.