LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 16, 2013) - Seattle-based Atossa Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS), The Breast Health Company™, today announced its sponsorship of the Los Angeles premiere of Decoding Annie Parker, a new film starring Helen Hunt, tomorrow, September 17, 2013, at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. Atossa has created the ForeCYTE Breast Health test -- available now -- which non-invasively and painlessly determines the presence of precancerous cells and assesses a women's future risk of breast cancer.
Dr. Steven Quay, Chairman, CEO & President of Atossa Genetics, stated, "Atossa Genetics is singularly focused on assessing breast cancer risk with our ForeCYTE Breast Health Test -- launched in January and available throughout the United States -- and preventing breast cancer by developing and commercializing an investigative intraductal therapy approach to treat pre-cancerous abnormalities, including ductal carcinoma in situ.
"Recent news stories about the increasing number of women with BRCA1 gene mutations having prophylactic bilateral mastectomy to reduce the risk of breast cancer have thrust the entire area of breast cancer risk assessment and prevention to the fore. We believe that our ForeCYTE Breast Health Test, which analyzes cells from the linings of the milk ducts where approximately 95 percent of breast cancers arise, provides women and their doctors with crucial information upon which to make more informed treatment decisions. For all those women who are concerned about their risk of breast cancer or who may be considering preventive bilateral mastectomy, we believe our test provides crucial information that will have a direct bearing on the decision making process," Dr. Quay added.
Decoding Annie Parker, directed by Steven Bernstein, honors the lives of two inspirational women impacted by breast cancer: Dr. Marie-Claire King, a geneticist at the University of Washington, who defied medical convention by looking for and finding the BRCA1 gene, now known to cause breast cancer, and Ann Parker, who struggles with breast cancer on more intimate terms after being diagnosed with breast cancer herself and having had to watch both her mother and sister succumb to the disease. The film stars Helen Hunt, who gives yet another inspiring performance in the role of Dr. King in her singular quest for the breast cancer gene.
"I am very excited about the potential of Atossa's ForeCYTE Breast Health Test to help prevent breast cancer so that fewer women will receive a devastating diagnosis or have to endure months or years of treatment," stated Steven Bernstein, Director of Decoding Annie Parker. "I am pleased to support Atossa Genetics in its quest to prevent breast cancer by producing a 90-second commercial on the ForeCYTE test, which will be shown tomorrow for the first time at the Los Angeles premier of Decoding Annie Parker."