Callisto is currently looking to out-license a diagnostic test for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, OCD occurs in about one in fifty Americans, and OCD related social and economic costs exceed $8 billion annually. In the United States and Western Europe, 3 million children are screened for OCD each year. There is currently no laboratory test available to diagnose OCD, and Callisto believes its diagnostic test, designed to identify a marker for the disease in affected patients, will assist psychiatrists in establishing the appropriate medical and/or psychological treatment. Callisto has identified a molecular marker, designated D8/17, consistently and selectively present on the immune cells of OCD patients. The marker can be detected with a monoclonal antibody which is patent protected. Two independent clinical trials with more than 100 subjects, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, confirm the validity and utility of Callisto’s diagnostic marker for OCD.
