http://tethysbio.com/press.html Updates to Tethys press releases. en-US http://tethysbio.com/press_article.html?id=19 2008-11-20T00:00:00Z Company joins national move to ensure Americans know their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Emeryville, CA (November 19, 2008) - Tethys Bioscience, Inc. has joined more than 37 national organizations and companies to become a National Diabetes Goal Champion. The National Diabetes Goal is an effort by organizations, trade associations, and corporations to help reduce the number of type 2 diabetes cases in the United States.

The Goal seeks to ensure that, by 2015, 45% of Americans who are at risk (59 million adults) for type 2 diabetes will understand their individual risk and what actions to take to prevent diabetes. Today, only 17% of American adults - approximately 22 million of the more than 130 million at risk - who are at risk for diabetes actually are aware of their risk and the steps they can take to prevent the disease.

"Tethys is proud to be among the supporters of the National Diabetes Goal, which parallels the company's goal to foster diabetes prevention through personalized risk assessment", said Mickey Urdea, founder, chairman and CEO of Tethys. "We believe that preventing diabetes will result only through the integration of the medical community, industry, advocacy groups and media in a unified campaign."

Today nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (133 million) are overweight or obese, a key risk factor for diabetes. While in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study which showed that nearly 24 million people in the U.S. have diabetes - an increase of more than 3 million in two years. Additionally an estimated 57 million American adults are known to be "pre-diabetic", placing them at increased risk for adverse outcomes associated with diabetes, including retinopathy, stroke, myocardial infarction and death.

"We will support the National Diabetes Goal to maximize diabetes-risk awareness and promote prevention as we broaden availability of the PreDxTM Diabetes Risk Test in the U.S." said Mike Richey, Tethys Chief Business Officer. "The Test results in a 5-year risk score which will enable individuals and their physicians to identify their personalized risk and take action in time to prevent the disease. Our objective is to encourage Americans to understand their risk by knowing their diabetes risk score".

About the National Diabetes Goal
The National Diabetes Goal was first launched in May 2008 by the National Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) in conjunction with many healthcare stakeholders, including, among others the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

About Tethys Bioscience
Tethys Bioscience is a predictive personalized medicine company developing novel tests which address the growing global healthcare challenge of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Founded in 2005, the company integrates an experienced management team, innovative research based on sound science, a CLIA-licensed clinical laboratory, and a commercialization team with extensive experience in diagnostic innovation. Our partnerships with world class researchers and our solid financial foundation will enable Tethys to help transform the management of chronic diseases by providing personalized, preventive solutions that aid every constituency: patients, doctors and the healthcare system as a whole.

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]]> http://tethysbio.com/press_article.html?id=16 2008-09-17T00:00:00Z Addition of metabolite technology uniquely positions company as it expands its line of predictive diagnostic tests

Emeryville, Calif. — Tethys Bioscience, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Lipomics Technologies of West Sacramento, Calif. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition brings together Lipomics' metabolite profiling technology with Tethys' proven expertise in the use of protein biomarkers to create novel tests capable of accurately predicting a person's likelihood of developing chronic diseases. Tethys launched its first such test — the PreDx™Diabetes Risk Test — earlier this year, and is working to develop similar tests that will predict a person's likelihood of experiencing an osteoporotic bone fracture or a major cardiac event.

Integration of the Lipomics understanding of lipid biology with the Tethys protein biomarker analysis capability provides the Company with state-of-the-art technology as it extends its focus beyond diabetes. With this combination, Tethys is uniquely positioned to develop unprecedented insights into the biological mechanisms of a host of diseases.

"We are very excited to add this highly complementary expertise to our increasingly diversified technology portfolio," said Mickey Urdea, Tethys founder, chairman and CEO. "We believe that the best solutions for predicting and thereby preventing a range of chronic conditions will come from the thoughtful integration of multiple types of biomarkers — including proteins and metabolites. The addition of Lipomics furthers our goal of arming patients and physicians with insights that will help reduce the incidence of preventable chronic diseases."

With completion of the acquisition today, full integration of the companies is well underway. Effective today, all 30 employees of Lipomics will become part of Tethys. Steven M. Watkins, PhD., co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Lipomics, will assume the role of chief technology officer at Tethys. The Lipomics facility will continue its comprehensive and quantitative profiling of lipid metabolites as Tethys West Sacramento.

"From the moment we began discussions with Tethys we were each struck by the complementary nature of our technologies, our core skills, and our sharp focus on addressing unmet clinical needs," Watkins said. "The Lipomics team is delighted to become part of Tethys, and to bring our expertise to bear on advancing the field of predictive personalized medicine."

About Tethys Bioscience
Tethys Bioscience is a predictive personalized medicine company developing novel tests which address the growing global healthcare challenge of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Founded in 2005, the company integrates an experienced management team, innovative research based on sound science, a CLIA-licensed clinical laboratory, and a commercialization team with extensive experience in diagnostic innovation. Our partnerships with world class researchers and our solid financial foundation will enable Tethys to help transform the management of chronic diseases by providing personalized, preventive solutions that aid every constituency: patients, doctors and the healthcare system as a whole.

About Lipomics
Lipomics Technologies provides industry-leading metabolic assessments for drug research, clinical diagnostics and personalized medicine. The Company's proprietary analytical technologies generate comprehensive, accurate and quantitative profiles of lipid metabolites. Lipomics delivers deep and rich knowledge about biological and metabolic changes induced by disease, drug action, nutritional or lifestyle influences. In partnership with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and nutrition companies, Lipomics uses its technologies to discover new diagnostic biomarkers, improve drug discovery, develop companion diagnostics and enable individualized health management. Visit Lipomics on the Web at: www.lipomics.com

About the PreDx™ Diabetes Risk Test
Tethys announced the expanded availability of its first predictive, personalized test — the PreDx Diabetes Risk Test — in June. The PreDx Diabetes Risk Test is a first-of-its-kind predictive tool that delivers an accurate assessment of an individual's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within the next five years. The test is performed exclusively by the Tethys Bioscience Clinical Laboratory on routinely collected blood samples.
The new blood test is designed to help physicians identify patients at highest risk of developing Type 2 diabetes so that they can promote lifestyle changes or initiate treatment plans to prevent or slow progression to Type 2 diabetes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that such interventions can reduce the incidence of new onset diabetes by 30—60%.
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]]> http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/06/16/story11.html 2008-07-02T00:00:00Z
Averting even a fraction of diabetes cases could help businesses put a dent in the $58 billion of indirect costs they bore in 2007 from diabetes-related absenteeism, productivity losses, disability expenses and early mortality, according to the American Diabetes Association. The company's analysis predicts the test could head off more than $11,200 in diabetes care costs per patient over 10 years.]]> http://epidemix.org/blog/?p=254 2008-07-02T00:00:00Z http:// 2008-06-09T00:00:00Z
The PreDX Diabetes Risk Test serves as a predictive tool that is said by the company to deliver an accurate assessment of an individual's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within the next five years. The test is performed exclusively by the Tethys Bioscience Clinical Laboratory on routinely collected blood samples.

]]> http://tethysbio.com/press_article.html?id=8 2008-06-07T00:00:00Z
The new blood test is designed to help physicians identify patients at highest risk of developing Type 2 diabetes so that they can promote lifestyle changes or initiate treatment plans to prevent or slow progression to Type 2 diabetes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that such interventions can reduce the incidence of new onset diabetes by 30-60%.

"There are a number of proven methods that clinicians can use to delay or prevent Type 2 diabetes in high-risk people," said Dr. Thomas Buchanan, Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. "The problem has been the lack of an easy-to-use clinical test to identify the high-risk people. The PreDx Diabetes Risk Test solves that problem. For the first time, clinicians can order a single blood test to assess their patients' diabetes risk and identify those who are in greatest need of diabetes prevention. This is a real paradigm shift."

Using data generated from thousands of patients who were monitored for up to 17 years, Tethys identified specific proteins and other biomarkers that are most predictive of a person's progression to Type 2 diabetes. Through comprehensive analysis of proteins and integration of multiple risk-defining biomarkers, the company developed a sophisticated test capable of stratifying at-risk individuals. Using a routine blood sample, Tethys provides an individualized risk report that indicates the likelihood of diabetes onset in a patient within the next five years.

"It is already known that we are facing a diabetes epidemic that will only grow worse in the next 10-20 years," said Dr. Sean Sullivan, Director of Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy at the University of Washington. "The ability to identify patients at high risk years ahead of disease diagnosis may allow us to halt diabetes progression, saving lives and helping to maintain or improve the quality of life for our patients, while also reducing the overall expenses associated with the disease."

"We are very proud to offer this innovative, clinically useful tool that enables physicians to accurately identify those at highest risk of developing Type 2 diabetes long before the disease occurs," said Mickey Urdea, founder, chairman, and CEO of Tethys Bioscience. "The PreDx Diabetes Risk Test can help physicians and patients to change the course of diabetes progression. Our mission is to provide tools that will facilitate early intervention in preventable diseases."

A presentation to be made at the ADA's 68th Scientific Sessions this week supports the accuracy and clinical utility of the PreDx Diabetes Risk Test. The report entitled Training and Validation of a Multimarker Algorithm for the Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes from a 5 Yr Prospective Study of 6,784 Danish People (Inter99) J. Kolberg, et al. shows that a simple blood test, based on multiple serum biomarkers, indicates the risk of conversion to Type 2 diabetes, which can provide doctors and patients with objective, quantitative information to intervene and prevent the onset of the disease. These results are being presented in poster format (#1019-P) from Saturday, June 7 through Monday, June 9 in Hall D of San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. Furthermore, a number of publications concerning Tethys' work will appear in the next several months.

About Type 2 Diabetes
The United States and countries throughout the world face a growing epidemic of diabetes. More than 60 million individuals are at risk for Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. alone, with more than 14.6 million diagnosed and 6.2 million remaining undiagnosed. The total annual economic cost of diabetes in the US in 2007 was estimated to be $174 billion, an increase of over 30% in the past five years.

Tethys believes that the best way to reduce the heavy economic and health burdens of diabetes is to arm people with the tools they need to understand their true risk of developing the disease. Preventing or delaying the progression to Type 2 diabetes has the potential to dramatically alter the economic and health impact of the disease.

Tethys is partnering with leading diabetes research centers and physicians to provide practical information that at-risk individuals can use to reduce their likelihood of progressing to Type 2 diabetes.

About Tethys Bioscience
Tethys Bioscience is a personalized predictive medicine company developing novel tests which address the growing global healthcare challenge of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Founded in 2002, the company incorporates an experienced management team, innovative research based on sound science, a CLIA-licensed clinical laboratory, a commercialization team with extensive experience in diagnostic innovation, strategic alliances with world-class researchers and partners, and a solid financial foundation to help transform the management of chronic diseases by providing personalized, preventive solutions that aid every constituency: patients, doctors, and the healthcare system as a whole.

The PreDx Diabetes Risk Test is performed exclusively by the Tethys Clinical Laboratory.

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]]> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/05/27/BUF210SLHI.DTL 2008-05-27T00:00:00Z
The diagnostic test to be launched next month by Tethys Bioscience is designed to pick up early signs that a patient will develop the most common type of diabetes - while there's still time to prevent that from happening.]]> http://tethysbio.com/press_article.html?id=4 2008-01-10T00:00:00Z Biomarker discovery company builds strong financial and clinical foundation in preparation for release of technology enabling early detection of risk for diabetes

Tethys Bioscience today announced that it has reached two significant milestones in its drive to release PreDx™ Diabetes Risk Test, a multi-biomarker technology that provides a more complete picture of an individual's future risk of developing diabetes. The company received its latest round of funding (Series C), and also received the licensing of its CLIA Lab by the State of California. Both moves place Tethys Bioscience in a strong position to establish itself as a leader in the emerging field of personalized predictive medicine and to achieve its goal of helping to stem the burgeoning epidemic of chronic, high-burden metabolic disease. PreDx™ Diabetes Risk Test will be generally available in the first half of 2009.

The new round of funding is led by Intel Capital, which was created specifically to invest in innovation and has a strong interest in the emerging field of predictive personalized medicine. This latest financing augments a process begun with earlier investments from some of the biggest names in the venture capital field, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mohr Davidow Ventures.

"We're very pleased to receive this round of financing from our investors, and we believe it supports our vision to dramatically improve the detection and treatment, and ultimately prevention, of chronic diseases," said Mickey Urdea, CEO of Tethys Bioscience." It gives us the resources to accelerate our work in this critical field, and to introduce a technology that enables a clinically simple blood test that provides an objective means to identify individuals at highest risk for diabetes. This will in turn give medical professionals, and their patients, the opportunity to intervene and modify the risk before irreversible damage occurs

Tethys Bioscience also announced the licensing of its clinical lab by the State of California. This marks a significant step forward for the company, enabling it to make its testing services available for sale and to offer test results obtained in Tethys' own laboratory, where the technology was also developed.

There is a very large market for early detection technology enabling personalized preventive efforts in diabetes and other chronic diseases. It is estimated that up to 7% of the population, or nearly 21 million people, have diabetes, with more than six million of those currently undiagnosed. Further, the number of individuals at risk for diabetes is estimated to be greater than double the number of those with diabetes. PreDx™ Diabetes Risk Test involves a simple to administer blood test, which fits easily into current clinical practice and provides clinically important, personalized risk information — while matching or outperforming traditional clinical risk scores and measures of glucose dysregulation or insulin resistance.

About Tethys Bioscience
Tethys Bioscience is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel biological markers — biomarkers — that provide a practical tool to address the growing global healthcare challenge of chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Tethys Bioscience comes to market with a unique combination: management, research, and commercialization teams with extensive experience in diagnostic innovation, strategic alliances with world-class researchers and partners, and a solid financial foundation to help transform the management of chronic diseases with personalized, preventive solutions that aid every constituency: patients, doctors, and the healthcare system as a whole.


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