Helmut Zarbl

Background

About Helmut Zarbl

GeneAssess, Inc, is dedicated to developing its breakthrough discovery of the FRY gene as a predictive biomarker for breast and other cancers. The company will use proprietary antibodies to validate loss of the FRY protein as a cancer biomarker, detect genetic mutations in FRY associated with high-risk populations and explore target validation for FRY. The signature gene could provide amore accurate diagnostic biomarker for cancer staging. The company has an exclusive license to the intellectual property developed by founder Dr.Helmut Zarbl, a professor of environmental and occupational medicine at RobertWood Johnson Medical School at the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), and the associate director for public health science at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Mutations in the gene increase rat susceptibility to mammary cancer and FRY reduced the growth of highly aggressive human breast cancer cells. According to Dr. Zarbl, FRY could potentially be used as a platform to develop cancer gene-based susceptibility tests, for disease progression and for tumor grading. FRY could also be useful for developing new targeted drugs, especially for the treatment of aggressive and/or advanced cancers originating from many tissue types. Dr. Zarbl’s research team found that: • Rats carrying a mutant FRY gene are highly susceptible to mammary carcinogenesis; • Expressing FRY in human breast cancer cells prevented tumor growth in nude mice; • Reduced FRY expression in many cancer types is associated with more aggressive growth and predicts poor clinical outcomes. For more information, contact Dr. Zarbl at (848) 445-2354 or at hzarbl@comcast.net.