ATLANTA, GA, and NORWOOD, MA, OCTOBER 20, 2009 – Molecular Biometrics,® Inc. today announced that Emre Seli, MD, Chair of the company’s Scientific Advisory Board, received the 2009 Ira and Ester Rosenwaks New Investigator Award from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). This prestigious award was presented at the 65th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), which recognizes the impact of original research in the field of reproductive medicine.

Dr. Seli’s award-winning research focuses, in part, on the use of metabolomic profiling to assess the reproductive potential of embryos in IVF. Embryos undergo specific metabolic changes and produce biological signals or ‘biomarkers’ that are absorbed into the culture media that nourishes the cells. As demonstrated in numerous studies, metabolic profiling can accurately measure these signals to help determine embryo viability. Other work recognized by this award concerns the identification of molecular pathways involved in the formation of embryos.

“This award is a formal declaration that my peers are aware of this research and see benefit in it,” said Dr. Seli, Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale University School of Medicine. “I am greatly encouraged and honored to receive this award, and will continue our work to develop metabolomic profiling as a rapid, non-invasive technology to more precisely estimate the reproductive potential of individual embryos, to improve upon current embryo grading systems.”

“We congratulate Dr. Seli on this tremendous career milestone, which truly reflects his remarkable achievements and contributions to the field of reproductive health,” said James T. Posillico, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Molecular Biometrics. “Molecular Biometrics is most fortunate to have him affiliated with our company. Dr. Seli has been a strong scientific advocate of our metabolomics platform and has been instrumental in helping with the clinical development of the ViaMetrics-E™ technology.”

Metabolomics is a complex scientific process that identifies and measures individual signals from many small molecular compounds produced during cellular metabolism. The company’s novel technology platform creates a ‘metabolomic profile’ or ‘fingerprint’ of an embryo’s potential viability, prior to possible embryo transfer in an IVF cycle. Metabolomic profiling provides a simultaneous evaluation of large numbers of biomarkers that reflect embryo development in culture media.

Molecular Biometrics developed a proprietary NIR (near infrared) biospectroscopy platform for its metabolomic applications. This technology rapidly measures the vibrational energy ‘signatures’ produced by small molecule functional groups, creating a unique profile of molecules that are descriptive of cellular function and viability.

The signatures are further analyzed by proprietary bioinformatics, which evaluates the biological and chemical data produced by NIR biospectroscopy, using sophisticated computer and statistical techniques to distinguish between the often subtle differences that separate normal physiology from the onset or progression of disease, or an individual’s response to therapeutic intervention.

Molecular Biometrics, Inc. is applying novel metabolomic technologies to develop accurate, non-invasive clinical tools for use in personalized medicine to evaluate normal biologic function in health and in disease, and for drug discovery and development. The company’s proprietary technology is being applied in reproductive health, IVF and neurodegenerative disease (e.g., Parkinson’s disease). Molecular Biometrics is headquartered in Norwood, MA, with research and development facilities in New Haven, CT, and Montreal, Quebec. For more information, please visit www.molecularbiometrics.com.

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