June 30, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (TSX: AEZ) (NASDAQ: AEZS),  a  late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy, said it will undertake a collaborative study with Almac's Diagnostics division for the company's AEZS-108 compound with an eye toward developing a companion diagnostic for certain types of cancer.

AEZS-108 is a doxorubicin luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone targeted conjugate compound. The study is aimed at determining LHRH receptor expression through the development of a companion diagnostic tool. Selection for treatment with AEZS-108 is determined on the basis of LHRH receptor expression, currently measured immunohistochemically.

In humans, LHRH receptors are expressed in ovarian, endometrial, breast, bladder, prostate and pancreatic tumors. AEZS-108 is currently in Phase 2 trials for advanced LHRH receptor positive ovarian and endometrial cancer.

Almac's Diagnostics division is a personalized medicine company focused on the discovery and development of biomarkers. Almac focus on providing a range of services including exploratory biomarker discovery studies, verification studies for existing markers, assay development and biomarker validation.

Canada-based Aeterna Zentaris is a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy.

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