IMMC Immunicon (MM)

Immunicon Corporation (NASDAQ CM:IMMC) announced today that the company received a four-year grant from the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (CTMM) to develop a test to detect minimal residual disease in blood of Acute Myeloid Leukemia patients. Using current methods, detection can only be done by taking regular bone marrow aspirates, which are typically very painful to extract for the patient. The program is planned to launch in September 2008 and is designed to broaden the number of personalized therapies available to patients. Financials were not disclosed. Byron D. Hewett, CEO and President of Immunicon Corporation commented, "The future of cancer treatment will be targeted and personalized to each patient. This grant funds the development of Immunicon�s capture, detection and FISH reagents which we believe will help bridge the gap between current cancer treatment methods and more patient-friendly techniques. The grant will allow Immunicon to expand on the current assay that detects circulating carcinoma cells to circulating leukemia cells." Immunicon joins an international consortium of partners for the CTMM grant including Skyline Diagnostics BV, Crosslinks BV, Flexgen, and Atos Origin. Academic partners in the investigations include the Institute for Medical Technology Assessment, VU Medisch Centrum, Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, Edinburgh University and Erasmus Medisch. Bob L�wenberg, Professor of Hematology and 18-year Department Chair at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands stated, "The challenge is to identify differences in the leukemia or multiple myeloma tumors to assess and select the optimal treatment strategy for individual patients. To produce meaningful results, a large amount of genetic data has to be correlated with multiple clinical parameters, involving the extensive use of bio-informatics, ICT and analytical software to determine the genetic fingerprints needed to develop new diagnostic tools and devices." L�wenberg continued, "Diagnosis in Leukemia has become an art of distinction. The ongoing discovery of genomic alterations in varieties of leukemias has revealed a dazzling diversity which markedly influences the clinical management of these diseases. The CTMM program for leukemia will give an enormous stimulus to the development of various innovative technologies for diagnosis and prognosis in leukemia and myeloma that should generate new useful tools for personalized therapeutics." About Center for Translational Molecular Medicine The Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (CTMM) of Eindhoven, The Netherlands is dedicated to the development of medical technologies that enable the design of new and "personalized" treatments for the main causes of mortality and diminished quality of life (cancer and cardiovascular diseases and, to a lesser extent, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases) and the rapid translation of these treatments to the patient. CTMM is a public-private consortium that comprises a multidisciplinary group of parties � universities, academic medical centers, medical technology enterprises and chemical and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, visit www.ctmm.nl. About Immunicon Corporation Immunicon Corporation is developing and commercializing proprietary cell- and molecular-based human diagnostic and life science research products, and is providing certain analytical services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to assist them in developing new therapeutic agents, with an initial focus on cancer disease management. Immunicon has developed platform technologies to identify, count and characterize a small number of rare cells in blood, such as circulating tumor cells and circulating endothelial cells that are important in many diseases and biological processes. Immunicon�s products and underlying technology platforms also have application in cancer research and may have applications in other fields of medicine, such as cardiovascular and infectious diseases. For more information, please visit www.immunicon.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are often preceded by words such as �hope,� �may,� �believe,� �anticipate,� �plan,� �expect,� �intend,� �assume,� �will� and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, among others, statements regarding the anticipated clinical utility of Immunicon�s products and other statements not of historical fact. Immunicon cautions investors not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release, are based on the current expectations and intent of the management of Immunicon and involve certain factors, such as risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be far different from those suggested by these statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: Immunicon�s ability to continue as a going concern; Immunicon�s dependence on Veridex, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company; the risks and uncertainties with the arbitration proceeding with Veridex and the award in favor of Veridex given Immunicon�s dependencies on Veridex; the ability to earn license and milestone payments under Immunicon�s agreement with Veridex; Immunicon�s capital and financing needs; research and development and clinical trial expenditures; commercialization of product candidates; Immunicon�s ability to obtain licenses from third parties to commercialize products; Immunicon�s ability to manage its growth; obtaining necessary regulatory approvals; reliance on third party manufacturers and suppliers; reimbursement by third party payors to Immunicon�s customers; compliance with applicable manufacturing standards; retaining key personnel; delays in the development of new products or planned improvements to products; effectiveness of products compared to competitors� products; protection of Immunicon�s intellectual property; conflicts with third party intellectual property; product liability lawsuits that may be brought against Immunicon; labor, contract or technical difficulties; and competitive pressures in Immunicon�s industry. These factors are discussed in more detail in Immunicon�s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Immunicon accepts no responsibility for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or for modifications made to this document by Internet or wire services. �Immunicon,� �CellTracks� and the Immunicon Corporation logo are registered trademarks of Immunivest Corporation, a subsidiary of Immunicon Corporation. Repeat-Free is a trademark of Immunivest Corporation. Poseidon is a trademark of Kreatech Diagnostics. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.