[April 23, 2012]

Ezose Sciences and Hirosaki University to Collaborate in Glycomics Research to Find New Cancer Biomarkers

Ezose Sciences Inc. and Hirosaki University today announced that they have formed a collaboration in glycomics research to identify new biomarkers for use in predicting and monitoring the progression of prostate cancer and other urological cancers.

The research will examine serum and urine samples collected by Hirosaki clinical investigators from well-characterized patient and control populations in Japan. Ezose will conduct the glycan analysis at its US laboratories using its proprietary GlycanMap® technology platform.

"This agreement marks another step that scientists at Ezose and in universities are taking together to improve our understanding of the role of glycans in health and disease," said Hidehisa Asada, Ph.D., Vice President, Research & Development at Ezose. "Given the already established clinical utility of glycan-based biomarkers in certain cancers, we believe that further studies in oncology hold promise for identifying other novel biomarkers that could help guide clinical practice."

Chikara Ohyama, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Urology at the Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, said: "Glycomics is beginning to come into its own as a basic tool in biomedical research. We look forward to applyin this new technology to unmet medical needs in managing urologic cancers through the complementary contributions of Ezose's scientists and our own."

Under terms of the agreement, Ezose is granted exclusive rights by Hirosaki University to develop and commercialize new biomarkers resulting from the collaboration.

About Glycomics

Glycomics is the study of glycans, the sugar chains that during the biochemical process known as glycosylation become attached to many proteins expressed by human cells. The particular glycans involved may crucially determine the function of the resulting glycoprotein and its role in health and disease.

Glycomics is a natural complement to genomics and proteomics, but it has traditionally been hindered by the lack of practical high-throughput and quantitative technologies. Ezose's proprietary GlycanMap® platform addresses this need by combining, in an automated 96-well format, high-throughput glycan enrichment with specialized MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and custom bioinformatics to both structurally identify and quantitate glycans present in complex biological samples. Such glycans can serve as novel biomarkers to aid in the development of drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests, including companion diagnostics. In addition, glycomics holds potential for uncovering new therapeutic targets and mechanisms and for guiding the development and manufacture of glycosylated biologics and biosimilars.

About Ezose

Ezose (pronounced a-zose) Sciences Inc., based in Pine Brook, NJ, is dedicated to advancing glycomics to improve scientific understanding and healthcare. Ezose's proprietary GlycanMap® technology platform brings a new dimension to biomarker discovery by enabling glycomics research on a scale comparable to that of genomics and proteomics. Ezose offers glycomics capabilities ranging from glycan analytics and biomarker discovery to diagnostic development and commercialization. The company tailors these capabilities to the needs of corporate partners under collaborative R&D and analytical-services agreements.

Established in 2009 as a US company, Ezose is an affiliate of the Diagnostics Division of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.

For more information, visit www.ezose.com.

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