Presentations at the Digestive Disease Week 2023 conference highlighted the strong performance of non-invasive tests for early-stage colorectal cancer. Both Guardant Health Inc. and Exact Sciences Corp. aim to increase acceptance of their tests for CRC to drive higher screening rates, as the preparation and invasive nature of colonoscopy continue to depress participation, even as rates of CRC are rising sharply among younger adults.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is proposing to lower the age of onset of regular breast cancer screening to 40 years, a massive jump of 10 years over the current recommended age of 50 years. While this is just a draft proposal, analysts who track the medical device industry say that medical imaging manufacturers, such as Marlborough, Mass.-based Hologic Inc., could see a significant uptick in demand for their systems, a much-needed boost as the drop in demand incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end.
China’s NMPA gave the nod to Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd.’s anti-preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) (EPR 20330) that could help to speed up melanoma diagnosis and improve survival rates.
China’s NMPA gave the nod to Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd.’s anti-preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) (EPR 20330) that could help to speed up melanoma diagnosis and improve survival rates.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. evidently found what it was looking for, as it agreed to acquire Haystack Oncology Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at up to $450 million with $300 million at closing and $150 million contingent on meeting specific milestones. Haystack focuses on minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, which can detect residual or recurring cancer in its early stages and help guide therapy decisions using blood samples rather than biopsied tissue. The companies expect the transaction to close before the end of June.
Biocartis Group NV recent entered an agreement with Apis Assay Technologies Ltd. to develop Apis’ breast cancer subtyping assay on its Idylla platform, is part of the Belgium company’s mission to bring complex molecular testing to as many patients as possible, outgoing Biocartis CEO Herman Verrelst, told BioWorld. The Idylla platform is a fully automated, real-time PCR based molecular testing system. With the technology failing to penetrate the U.S. market, and the share price tanking in recent years, the Belgium-based company recently appointed Roger Moody to the top job, effective Apr. 24, 2023.
Compared to recent fundraising rounds in the med-tech space, Noah Medical Inc. was veritably deluged with cash in its series B. Softbank Vision Fund and Prosperity7 Ventures led the round, which rained down $150 million on the medical robotics company. Other participants included Hillhouse, Sequoia China, Shangbay Capital, Uphonest Capital, Sunmed Capital, Lyfe Capital, 1955 Capital, AME Cloud Ventures and undisclosed strategic investors.
Liquid biopsy company Epic Sciences Inc. reeled in $24 million in a series G financing co-led by Deerfield Management and Arsenal Capital Partners. The funds will be used to build the commercial infrastructure needed successfully market DefineMBC, its comprehensive blood-based test for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Torl Biotherapeutics LLC has raised $158 million in a series B round as it seeks to nudge its anti-Claudin-6 antibody-drug conjugate candidates, TORL-123 and TORL-2307, beyond phase I trials for the treatment of ovarian and gastric cancers, respectively. Claudin-6, or CLDN6, is a molecule that forms tight junctions around cells. It is highly expressed in a range of solid tumor types, so is a popular target for drug development.
