Immunicon Corporation to Conduct Circulating Tumor Cell Testing for Breast Cancer Clinical Trial Conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group.

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. -- Immunicon Corporation (NASDAQ-GM:IMMC) announced today that a major clinical trial conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) has opened to enrollment. The trial is a randomized Phase III trial designed to determine whether changing cancer therapy when circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are elevated at the first follow-up assessment will improve the survival time of the patients. Women with confirmed breast cancer and clinical evidence of metastatic disease who are entering their first line of chemotherapy are eligible to participate.

Jeffrey B. Smerage M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator for the study, commented, "The SWOG study is a natural extension of the pivotal trial that Immunicon conducted for FDA clearance. The original study demonstrated that CTCs can be used to predict survival at multiple time points during therapy. The data suggests that effective therapy that eliminates circulating tumor cells does indeed positively impact survival. This SWOG study is expected to give us a definitive answer to the following question: "Does changing cancer therapy when CTCs are elevated make a difference in the survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer?"

Immunicon will perform CTC testing for hundreds of sites who elect to participate in the trial. Byron Hewett, president and chief executive officer of Immunicon, commented, "In preparation for the start of this trial, we have completed all requirements for certification under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) and our laboratory is now licensed to conduct tests that are categorized as highly complex under CLIA regulations. Unlike our own FDA trials and the studies for pharmaceutical companies we have conducted to date, the CTC results for the SWOG trial will be used to make treatment decisions, which drove the decision to complete the CLIA certification process."

SWOG is one of the largest cancer clinical trials cooperative groups in the United States. Funded by research grants from the National Cancer Institute, SWOG conducts clinical trials to prevent and treat cancer in adults and to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors. SWOG has approximately 120 clinical trials underway at this time. SWOG's network of more than 5,000 physician-researchers practice at nearly 550 institutions, including 17 of the National Cancer Institute's 61 designated cancer centers, university teaching hospitals, community hospitals, community-based physician cooperatives and individual physician offices.

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.

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