Mega Genomics Ltd. raised HK$153.4 million (US$20 million) in an initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Its shares jumped 16.7% in the middle of the first trading day on June 22 and closed at HK$18 a share. Beijing-based Mega Genomics plans to allocate 30% of the proceeds to the sales, marketing, and commercialization of its consumer genetic testing and cancer screening services and products.
Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Ltd. has revised its offer to acquire digital health company Resapp Health Ltd. after results from an independent data confirmation study of its COVID-19 algorithm failed to meet Pfizer’s required sensitivity and specificity results.
Ibex Medical Analytics Ltd. extended the reach of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered pathology system, adding gastric cancer to existing CE mark approvals in prostate and breast cancer.
Glympse Bio Inc.’s diagnostic platform has demonstrated the ability to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in blood, offering a non-invasive method for diagnosing the disease much earlier and more reliably than current approaches. The platform uses biosensors and machine learning to measure protease activity in plasma samples. Details of studies demonstrating the system’s accuracy in HCC will be presented at the International Liver Conference 2022 in London.
The cost of providing COVID-19 vaccines and therapies for a possible fall surge in the U.S. is coming at the expense of testing and personal protection equipment. While other countries are planning for the expected surge by placing their orders for vaccines and therapies, “we are starting to lose our place in line,” White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said during a June 9 media briefing.
For a non-invasive cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has spread rapidly—at least in research studies. Multiple companies presented results of diagnostic tests and genomic analysis that offer guidance for selecting treatment options for stage 0 breast cancer at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which concluded in Chicago on June 7. Several of these studies reliably predicted which patients can safely be selected for active surveillance without surgery, who would benefit from endocrine or radiotherapy following surgery and who would be best served by risk-reducing surgery such as double mastectomy.
Grail LLC reported a new study with the U.K.’s NHS to assess the clinical utility of its Galleri multi-cancer early detection test (MCED) for reducing late-stage cancer diagnoses. Menlo Park, Calif.-headquartered Grail presented the study design during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago. The randomized controlled trial will enroll 140,000 asymptomatic participants aged 50-77 living across England to determine if Galleri can find cancers at an early stage when they are less advanced.
Medi-Globe GmbH, in conjunction with the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) in Strasbourg, France, is developing new artificial intelligence (AI) software for the detection of pancreatic disease. The Rohrdorf Germany-based company just completed a first-in-human trial of this AI tool during an endoscopic ultrasound examination performed at the Institute of Image-Guided Surgery at IHU.
University of Edinburgh spinoff Biocaptiva Ltd. has raised an additional $2.6 million (£2.1 million) in seed financing for its cell free DNA (cfDNA) capture device, Biocaptis. Business angel syndicate Archangels led the round, with participation from Scottish Enterprise and Cancer Research Horizon, the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK.
Retispec Inc. and the Toronto Memory Program launched a community screening program for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) funded by the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC). The program will provide two points of entry for screening—optometry clinics and the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. The project is one of 12 early detection efforts worldwide that received a total of $4.5 million in funding this week from DAC.
