July 30, 2018 | July featured news, products, and partnerships from around the diagnostics community from numerous companies, universities, and organizations, including NuProbe, IBM, CellMax Life, and more.
NuProbe announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with genomics pioneers George M. Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and David R. Walt, Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. The SAB will help to guide the company’s strategy and advance its technology platform. It is also expanding its Board of Directors with the addition of veteran healthcare investor Kevin Chen, Founding Partner at Biotrack Capital. “The success of many therapies and the possibility to prevent surgeries will rely on the availability of strong diagnostic capabilities to detect diseases at an early stage,” Church, who has a successful track record of developing and transferring technologies to more than 15 biotech companies including AbVitro (acquired by Juno), Editas Medicine, and eGenesis, said in a press release. “NuProbe’s technology has the potential to provide disruptive solutions toward this aim.” NuProbe’s toehold probe-based platform technology enhances qPCR and NGS mutation detection sensitivity and multiplexing capability. This opens the possibility for ultra-sensitive and non-invasive blood tests to improve detection of cancer and infectious diseases and help guide treatment decisions. Press Release
CellMax Life announced that six US patents have been granted for its biomimetic platform CMx, which detects circulating tumor cells (CTC). The patents cover the entire detection workflow, from the capture of very rare CTCs present at fewer than five cells per billion normal cells in early stage cancer, to the processes ensuring their intact release and identification by means of advanced imaging techniques, allowing CellMax Life to detect CTCs in up to 90% of samples. In addition to these six US patents, there are also 16 global patents issued and several additional patents pending in its growing portfolio. The CellMax CMx platform, has its origins in research conducted on biomimetic smart materials and interfaces by Professor Ying Chih Chang at Stanford University. It captures CTCs in a process that involves passing two milliliters (ml) of blood through a microfluidic chip with patented surface coating – a biomimetic structure that mimics the human cell surface membrane. This membrane with custom monoclonal antibody promotes collaborative binding of CTCs, prevents non-CTC cells (such as blood cells) from sticking to the chip, and retains CTCs tightly during a gentle buffer purification. Using an air-foam technique to safely release the viable CTCs to an Eppendorf tube, the eluted cells can be placed on a slide for staining and enumeration. A patented imaging technique is utilized to locate and identify the CTCs for analysis. The eluted cells can also be cultured and used in downstream molecular analysis, including next generation sequencing of DNA and RNA and proteomics. Press Release
Octave Bioscience announced the completion of its Series A funding of $14 million. BCBS Venture Partners led the investment round with participation from Echo Health Ventures (a strategic collaboration of Cambia Health Solutions and Mosaic Health Solutions), Section 32 and new as well as existing private investors. Previously, the company raised $2.5 million in seed funding. This financing will allow the company to complete development of its proprietary, first-in-class platform and begin to evaluate the impact of the platform in its initial disease state, multiple sclerosis. “Multiple sclerosis is a high-cost disease that is highly variable. Despite an explosion of available therapies, many patients experience poor treatment outcomes,” Thomas Hawes, Managing Director Healthcare, Sandbox, on behalf of Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners, and Octave Board Member, said in a press release. “Octave’s care management solution promises to transform neurodegenerative diseases by providing expanded insights into a patient’s specific disease stage, severity and progression while accessing practice protocols and evidence-based care insights to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.” Press Release
Karius announced the positive results of a clinical study using blood samples from patients with confirmed invasive fungal infections (IFI). The study showed that the Karius Test, a noninvasive blood test, was able to detect both Aspergillus and non-Aspergillus molds in patients with proven IFI, who were previously diagnosed by invasive samplings of infected tissue. The results were published in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, a peer-reviewed journal in clinical microbiology focused on the diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease. The Karius Test is a novel next-generation sequencing assay that was used to detect pathogen-derived cell-free DNA in patients with IFI. The study included nine adult patients at Stanford University Medical Center with diagnosed IFI, as confirmed by standard tissue biopsies. Patients had deep fungal infections in their lungs, heart, brain, sternum, small bowel or peri-pancreatic lymph nodes. Plasma samples were collected from these patients and the samples were sent to Karius’ laboratory in Redwood City, California for analysis. In the study, the Karius Test showed concordance with standard, more invasive diagnostic methods. The Karius Test accurately identified pathogens at the species level. In one patient, Aspergillus lentulus was identified while conventional culture diagnosis found Aspergillus fumigatus species complex. This is a key finding because A.lentulus is resistant to first-line antifungal medications and identifying the right pathogen can lead to more effective antifungal therapy. Press Release
Guerbet announced that it has signed an exclusive joint development agreement to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) software solution in collaboration with IBM Watson Health to support liver cancer diagnostics and care utilizing CT and MRI imaging. Through this collaboration, Guerbet and IBM Watson Health plan to co-develop innovative, clinical decision support solutions. The first, called Watson Imaging Care Advisor for Liver, is planned to be a diagnostic support tool that will use artificial intelligence to automate the detection, staging, tracking, monitoring, therapy prediction and therapy response of primary and secondary liver cancer for clinicians. The IBM Research team will also work on development of the solutions leveraging prior research innovations. Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and the fastest growing cause of cancer deaths in the United States. About 83% of primary liver cancer cases occur in developing countries. The liver is also a common site for metastases, particularly in the case of digestive cancers, in which nearly 50% of patients develop metastases. The hope is that better characterization and earlier identification of these metastases may lead to an improvement in the chances of recovery. Press Release
Raj Kumar Gandhi and Swati Bindal Gandhi have set up Apex Diagnostic Centre in the heart of the city, Solan on 7 Aug 2016, where the patients in and around Himachal Pradesh can avail specialty treatment and all types of hi-tech healthcare diagnostic services under one roof. The center focuses on the introduction of high-quality imaging and fully automated lab for accurate results, within 2hrs of the test. The facilities provided here are first of its kind in the entire state, giving easy access to the patients from farthest nooks of surrounding regions such as Shimla, Theog, Rohru, Rampur, Rajgarh, Shillai, Nahan, and other areas. Home Sample Collection and ambulance facility has been especially helpful for those who are not able to leave their residence. Additionally, Ex-Servicemen, ECHS, ESI, Himachal Government employees and retired employees can avail reimbursement for their medical expenses. Press Release
miR Scientific, formerly known as miR Diagnostics, announced the appointment of Laurence Klotz to the role of Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately and sponsorship of the Fourth Friends of Israel Urological Symposium also co-chaired by Klotz that was held from July 3-5 in Israel. “Laurence brings a wealth of urological expertise to miR as a clinical trialist, urologic oncologist and collaborative research partner during an exciting time in our company’s growth,” said Sam Salman, Chief Executive Officer of miR Scientific, in a press release. “His ability to synthesize his decades of experience as an industry leader will help guide miR Scientific’s clinical development efforts and regulatory strategies. With the addition of Laurence to our team, we are well positioned to maximize the high priority opportunities available to us through our urogenital cancer platform, which includes advanced, non-invasive liquid biopsy screening tests to diagnose bladder and prostate cancers. His active participation in this year’s Friends of Israel Urological Symposium highlights the esteemed position he holds amongst world renowned colleagues.” Klotz currently serves as the Chairman of the World Urologic Oncology Federation and Member of the Institute of Medical Science and Graduate Faculty at the University of Toronto since July 2005. Press Release