Abviva Details Patent Information for its Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Technology

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May 21, 2010, 04:26 ET

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abviva, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ABVV), a biomedical company engaged in the development and commercialization of breast cancer related applications of Mammastatin, today provided further details about worldwide patent protection for its breast cancer risk assessment technology.

The Company previously announced that the Japanese Patent Office issued two patents on the core technology that may be used for therapeutic applications and in the Company's breast cancer risk assessment test, the Mammastatin Serum Assay (MSA). The patents are the most recent of 13 international and U.S. patents to issue to the University of Michigan for breast cancer diagnostic and therapeutic uses of Mammastatin.

The international patents detail methods of use and compositions of Mammastatin in therapeutic and diagnostic applications in the United States (7 patents), Australia (2 patents), Canada (1), Europe (1), and Japan (2). These patents have issued starting in the United States and Australia in 2002, and continuing through the two most recent patents issued this year in Japan.

"Based upon the patents, we believe that we will be able to aggressively penetrate the largest markets worldwide with confidence that our intellectual property is secure," said Barrett Evans, CEO of Abviva. "There are additional patents that have been filed and we are hopeful that we will be able to obtain even further protection of our intellectual property as the Company grows."

The MSA was initially developed at the University of Michigan Cancer Center and is licensed exclusively to Abviva by the University for scientific and commercial development as a blood test to assess women's health. In scientific correlation studies women who tested high with the MSA test showed to have lower risk of breast cancer than women who tested low. These findings align with results of the original research conducted at the University of Michigan Cancer Center that demonstrated Mammastatin was normally produced by breast epithelial cells in healthy women and was missing or reduced in transformed breast epithelial cells. In previous studies, an independent biostatistician calculated the overall accuracy of the MSA test to be 84-86%.

"This further solidifies the domestic and international intellectual property protection strategy we have implemented with the University of Michigan," continued Mr. Evans. "The issuance of this patent will be very important as we gain regulatory approval and market presence for the Mammastatin technology internationally. These newest patent grant notifications further expand our worldwide patent protection and marketability for MSA."

About Abviva

Abviva, Inc. is a biomedical company engaged in the innovation, development and commercialization of breast cancer related applications of Mammastatin, a growth inhibitory protein discovered at the University of Michigan Cancer Center that demonstrated anti-breast cancer properties. The discovery was developed into a simple breast cancer diagnostic blood test that demonstrated healthy women have high or normal levels of the protein and women with breast cancer have no detectable or very low levels of the protein. Abviva intends to commercialize the Mammastatin Serum Assay as a reference test through its wholly owned subsidiary laboratory under CLIA certification.

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical facts are "forward-looking" statements (identified by the words "believe", "estimate", "project", "expect" or similar expressions) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes in the regulatory environment, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information currently known to management, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Abviva, Inc.