New Studies Expand the Large Body of Data on the Important Role of an Arthritis Protein; 14-3-3eta Blood Test

VANCOUVER, Nov. 5, 2014 /CNW/ - Augurex Life Sciences Corp. announces a burgeoning body of data that further reveals the important role of a protein measured in blood, called 14-3-3eta, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ten studies will be presented at the world's premier rheumatology conference, the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting (ACR) in Boston, November 14-18 with the schedule in the table below.

This data builds on the recently published studies in two high-impact peer-reviewed journals co-authored by international leading rheumatologists describing the 14-3-3eta protein as a "mechanistic" biomarker that is involved in driving disease processes that lead to joint destruction. A simple blood test measures the levels of circulating 14-3-3eta protein which assists with early RA patient diagnosis and also informs the likelihood of aggressive disease. Early diagnosis and treatment are known to lead to better clinical outcomes of this otherwise debilitative disease.

Dr. Anthony Marotta, Augurex's Chief Scientific Officer says, "What we are seeing, consistently in the data, is that RA patients who have higher levels of the protein tend towards more joint damage progression over time. Alongside the specialist's clinical assessment, this provides "biological-level" information regarding the disease mechanism at play, to assist with ongoing patient management."

"This information is important to know," says Professor Yoshiya Tanaka, Professor & Chairman, of The First Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine University of Occupational & Environmental Health, Japan and the principal investigator of a study that will be presented as a late-breaking poster presentation at ACR. Professor Tanaka explains, "Rheumatoid arthritis is a multi-factorial disease and it has been published that 14-3-3eta upregulates several factors that perpetuate disease. Furthermore, there are many drugs to choose from for treatment, but response to therapy is heterogeneous and depends on the disease mechanisms at play in a particular patient."  Professor Tanaka adds, "Previous studies have shown that blood levels of 14-3-3eta change along the disease course and inform treatment response; the study that we'll present at ACR (Poster #L18) describes new findings in this area."

14-3-3eta-related blood tests measure different forms of the protein and their specific auto-antibodies. The first test within the 14-3-3eta family measures concentrations of the whole protein and is available in the US, is cleared for use in Europe (CE-marked) and is Health Canada approved as an RA diagnostic test.

List of 14-3-3 eta ACR 2014 conference proceedings to be presented at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

Title	Date and Time	Room Number
Change in 14-3-3eta expression in early RA patients treated with DMARDS corresponds with change in DAS28 and good EULAR responses Presenter: Dirkjan van Schaardenburg Presentation # 1903	Oral Presentation Nov. 17, 4:45 - 5:00	258 B
Autoantibodies to 14-3-3eta are novel biomarkers associated with inflammation and radiographic progression in ankylosing spondylitis Presenter: Walter Maksymowych Presentation # 2985	Oral Presentation Nov. 19, 9:30 - 9:45	205 B
14-3-3eta CIT:ARG antibody ratios:  Are we overlooking the prognostic utility of citrullinated antibodies by only looking at titers? Presenter: Dirkjan van Schaardenburg Poster # 359	Poster Presentation Nov. 16, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
88% of recent onset polyarthritis patients are positive for 14-3-3eta markers and 14-3-3eta auto-antibodies inform a favourable prognosis Presenter: Gilles Boire Poster # 360	Poster Presentation Nov. 16, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
Citrullinated 14-3-3eta antibodies are specific for early and established RA and are complementary to ACPA Presenter: Anthony Marotta Poster # 361	Poster Presentation Nov. 16, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
14-3-3eta early RA biomarkers: Does seronegative RA exist? Presenter: Dirkjan van Schaardenburg Poster # 362	Poster Presentation Nov. 16, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
14-3-3eta: A mechanistic biomarker that supports the concept of "uncoupling" of inflammation and joint damage Presenter: Dirkjan van Schaardenburg Poster # 405	Poster Presentation Nov. 16, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
14-3-3eta auto-antibody positivity informs better clinical outcomes in RA Presenter: Dirkjan van Schaardenburg Poster # 408	Poster Presentation Nov. 16, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
Profiling 14-3-3eta in human primary cell based BIOMAP® disease models reveals a unique pro-inflammatory phenotypic signature consistent with RA-inflammation biology Presenter: Alison O'Mahony Poster # 1975	Poster Presentation Nov. 18, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B
14-3-3eta informs joint pathological mechanisms of treatment response to assist with T2T strategies Presenter: Shintaro Hirata Poster # L18	Late Breaking Poster Nov. 18, 9:00 – 11:00	Exhibit Hall B

SOURCE: Augurex Life Sciences Corp.

Web: www.augurex.com, tel: [phone]