OncoMethylome Sciences Expands its Collaboration with Schering-Plough

LIEGE (BELGIUM) - October 24, 2006, 8:00am CET - OncoMethylome Sciences announced today that it has entered into a new non-exclusive service agreement with Schering-Plough. Under the terms of the new agreement, OncoMethylome will receive processing fees for providing Schering-Plough with testing services in connection with clinical trials focused on brain cancer as well as other cancers.

The new agreement creates a framework for OncoMethylome to provide further MGMT methylation testing to Schering-Plough. OncoMethylome currently provides this service for a multi-center clinical trial that is supported by Schering-Plough and was announced on April 5, 2006. The trial evaluates whether patients with glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain tumor, can benefit from a more intensive temozolomide drug treatment regimen. MGMT methylation is being tested in this study for all patients’ tumors.

The MGMT gene is a biomarker that has been shown to be methylated in a number of cancer types. OncoMethylome owns a patent-protected assay for determining the methylation status of the MGMT gene. Under the terms of the new agreement, OncoMethylome’s assay will be used for MGMT methylation testing in multiple national and international clinical trials involving temozolomide in brain cancer and other cancers.

“We are pleased that interest in our MGMT assay continues to grow” said Herman Spolders, CEO of OncoMethylome Sciences. “We look forward to supporting Schering-Plough in exploring the therapeutic implications of MGMT methylation in additional cancers.”

About MGMT Methylation
The MGMT gene codes for an essential enzyme (MGMT) that repairs damaged DNA. Methylation, or silencing, of the MGMT gene, blocks the normal production of this enzyme. The loss of the MGMT enzyme appears to make cancerous tumors more responsive to certain drug therapies, such as temozolomide, as was shown in a landmark study of brain cancer patients published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005 (NEJM 2005; 352:997-1003).

About OncoMethylome Sciences
OncoMethylome Sciences (Euronext Brussels: ONCOB; Euronext Amsterdam: ONCOA) is a molecular diagnostics company developing patent-protected gene methylation tests to assist physicians in effectively detecting and treating cancer. Specifically, the company’s tests are designed to help the physician (i) accurately detect cancer in early stages of cancer development, (ii) predict a patient’s response to drug therapy, and (iii) predict the likelihood of cancer recurrence.

OncoMethylome boasts a broad product development pipeline consisting of nine products and a solid partnering record. The company collaborates with leading international molecular oncology research centers, such as The Johns Hopkins University, and has a number of commercial and collaborative partnerships with Veridex LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company, Schering-Plough Corp., Chemicon International Inc., and EXACT Sciences Corp. OncoMethylome’s products are based on methylation technology invented by Johns Hopkins University (USA).

Established in January 2003, OncoMethylome has offices in Liege and Leuven (Belgium), in Durham, NC (USA), and in Amsterdam (the Netherlands).
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Publisher Contact Information:

OncoMethylome Sciences S.A. (OMS)
+32 (0)479 801 902
Lucija.Turcinov@oncomethylome.com

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