Press releases

ONCOMETHYLOME SCIENCES PLANS EURONEXT LISTING IN BRUSSELS AND AMSTERDAM

Liège, Belgium – May 11, 2006 – OncoMethylome Sciences SA, a life sciences company with activities in Belgium, the Netherlands, and USA, announces that it is planning, in the coming months, to raise new funds through an initial public offering. The ensuing listing is foreseen as a dual listing on Eurolist by Euronext Brussels and Amsterdam. OncoMethylome intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to expand and accelerate its product development pipeline and for other corporate purposes. Fortis and ING have been appointed as lead managers for the transaction.

OncoMethylome develops patent-protected molecular tests to assist physicians in effectively detecting and treating cancer. Specifically, the Company’s tests are designed to help the physician to accurately detect cancer in early stages of cancer development, to predict a patient’s response to drug therapy, and to predict the likelihood of cancer recurrence.

OncoMethylome tests work by identifying DNA gene methylation patterns, which are correlated with the development of cancer. The clinical potential of the gene methylation markers and technology on which the Company’s tests are based has been demonstrated and published by multiple leading oncology centers, including Johns Hopkins University (USA) which invented the underlying technology. OncoMethylome believes that its patent-protected diagnostics and personalized treatment solutions address an important and growing medical need in the oncology healthcare sector.

At present, OncoMethylome products are not yet commercially available; however, the Company’s first product, a test for early detection of prostate cancer, has been partnered for commercialization with Veridex LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company. In addition, OncoMethylome entered into a partnership with Schering-Plough for predicting brain tumor response to the Schering-Plough drug temozolomide (Temodal®). Additional products in the Company’s pipeline include diagnostic tests for early detection of colorectal, bladder, lung, breast and cervical cancers, as well as products for personalized treatment, such as other tests to predict tumor response to cancer drug therapies.

Launched in January 2003, OncoMethylome is headquartered in Liège (Belgium), where its development laboratory is located. The Company’s personalized treatment and marker discovery services are carried out in its Leuven (Belgium) facilities, while the development team based in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) works closely with several leading Dutch cancer research institutes, such as the Amsterdam Free University Medical Center, the GROW institute at the University Hospital of Maastricht, and the University Hospital in Groningen. The Durham (NC, USA) office houses the Company’s business and clinical development personnel.

For further information, please contact

Lucija Turcinov
Tel. +32-479-801-902
Lucija.Turcinov@oncomethylome.com