Vermillion has entered into collaborations with world-class scientists at leading academic institutions in oncology, hematology, cardiology and women’s health. The partners bring together scientific know-how, access to clinical samples, and multi-site study design expertise to find novel biomarkers for a variety of unmet clinical needs. Vermillion retains rights to discoveries made for diagnostics development, as well as exclusive rights to license discoveries made during the course of these collaborations.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU)

Our multi-year research and development collaboration with JHU focuses on the discovery and validation of biomarkers that can be applied toward disease detection, classification and monitoring of a variety of prevalent cancers, including ovarian, breast and prostate cancer. In August 2004, Vermillion and JHU published a study in Cancer Research describing the discovery of protein biomarkers that form the basis of a potential clinical assay designed to be used as an adjunct to other diagnostic methods to help physicians distinguish women with ovarian cancer from women with benign pelvic masses. The collaboration continues to evaluate and validate biomarkers for ovarian cancer. The principal investigators at JHU are Daniel W. Chan, Ph.D., DABCC, FACB, Professor of Pathology, Oncology, Radiology & Urology and Director of the Clinical Chemistry Division in the Department of Pathology; and Zheng Zhang, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology.

University of Kentucky

The collaboration between Vermillion and the University of Kentucky focuses on analyzing patients’ tumor cyst fluids and blood to discover biomarkers that can be used before surgery to better distinguish patients with malignancies from patients with benign conditions. The University of Kentucky’s Gynecologic Oncology Division operates one of the largest ovarian cancer screening programs in the world, with more than 500 gynecologic operations being performed annually. The division is under the direction of four full-time gynecologic oncologists: Drs. John van Nagell, Paul DePriest, Fred Ueland and Susan Modesitt. Dr. Ueland, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the Markey Cancer Center, is principal investigator of the study and was principal investigator of the OVA1^® trial.

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Our collaboration with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center furthers the discovery and validation of ovarian cancer biomarkers. As a major referral center for patients with ovarian cancer, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with access to a large number of clinical samples. The goal of this collaboration is to further refine the biomarkers being used towards the development of new diagnostic approaches for ovarian cancer. The principal investigator at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is Robert C. Bast, Jr. MD - Vice President for Translational Research and the Harry Carothers Wiess Distinguished University Professor for Cancer Research at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Stanford University

In collaboration with researchers at Stanford University, Vermillion is developing VASCLIR^®, a novel blood test to predict the likelihood a patient has peripheral artery disease (PAD). Proper diagnosis and early treatment can significantly improve the prognosis for patients with this debilitating condition. John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, is the principle investigator at Stanford University.

Ohio State University Research Foundation (OSURF)

In collaboration with OSURF, Vermillion developed a diagnostic test to detect thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a hematological disease. Vermillion currently licenses the TTP assay to The Ohio State University (OSU) for availability as a laboratory developed test through the OSU reference laboratory. Utilizing SELDI mass spectrometry, the TTP test directly measures enzymatic levels and provides precise, quantitative and reproducible results. The principal investigator at OSURF is Haifeng M. Wu, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology and Medicine and Director of the Clinical Coagulation Laboratory.

If you are interested in partnering with Vermillion, please contact Ashish Kohli at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .