ValiBio moves prototype cancer blood test forward
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
ValiBio has started a trial of its first prototype Nucleosomics cancer diagnostic, using it to test blood samples from patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer. The subsidiary of ValiRx (London, UK) hopes the trial will determine the diagnostic predictive correlation of the test, and plans to study a wider patient sample if the results are positive. The first test could be launched in the next 15 months, it says. The Nucleosomics test uses standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technology and detects epigenetic histone modifications in blood samples that correspond with a specific cancer. Epigenetics refers to reversible changes in gene expression caused by environmental factors; deregulation of normal epigenetic control mechanisms has been linked to the development and progression of certain tumours. Gosselies, Belgium-based ValiBio hopes its test will be used for the early diagnosis of cancers such as colon and pancreatic, which often do not have obvious symptoms.
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