Matritech Discovery May Aid Testing for Cervical Cancer
May 01, 2011
NEWTON, Mass. -- Matritech Inc. stock rose 16% on news that the company had discovered protein markers that could prove the basis for a more accurate test for cervical cancer than the current Pap smear technology. The discovery involves structures called nuclear matrix proteins that are present in cancerous cells but not in normal cells; it opens the possibility of a simple chemical test that would detect the cancer, Hallock said. The current Pap smear test for cervical cancer relies on a technician's visual examination of cells to determine if they are cancerous. Bayer Corp., the U.S. unit of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, has an option to market the new cervical-cancer test, which Hallock said could be ready for clinical trials in one to two years. Matritech shares closed at $10.125, up $1.375, in Nasdaq Stock Market trading Friday. Matritech received Food and Drug Administration approval last month to begin marketing a test for bladder cancer, also based on nuclear matrix proteins.
