Collaboration to improve colon cancer treatment

RNS Number : 1463G

EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC

02 March 2015

 

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF", the "Company")

Collaboration to improve colon cancer treatment

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM listed point-of-care, central laboratory and molecular diagnostics business, announces a major 18 month collaboration in the US, using the Company's PrecisionPath™ technology to provide genetic profiles of cancer tumours, which, if successful, will lead to greatly improved treatment decisions for colon cancer patients.

The collaboration brings together EKF's subsidiary Selah Genomics; Greenville Health Systems, one of the leading cancer institutes in the US; DecisionQ Corporation; and Becton Dickinson and Company, with the aim of creating a new way for community doctors to decide on the most effective treatments for colon cancer using the latest next generation sequencing technology as well as artificial intelligence-based decision support algorithms.

In the US, as many as 60 per cent of all cancer patients with solid tumours do not respond to first-line treatment, resulting in further treatment cycles, higher costs, elevated toxicity and, most importantly, lost time. The collaboration is designed to create a unique personalised approach to cancer treatment whereby doctors can have more certainty over prescribing the most effective treatment for each individual patient.

Over the 18 month period, EKF's PrecisionPath™ will be used to determine the genetic profiles of tumour samples provided by the Institute for Translational Oncology Research, which is part of Greenville Health Systems' Cancer Institute. At the same time DecisionQ will employ its advanced machine-learning platform to integrate the genetic profile data with existing clinical annotations and the known outcomes of the patient samples to validate the treatment indicated by the genetic profiling. If the results successfully correlate, then this will help validate EKF's PrecisionPath™   product in being able to improve clinical decisions related to the treatment of colon cancer patients.

The research project is being funded in part by Becton Dickinson who have first rights to license the technology should the collaboration be a success. After the initial collaboration, a clinical trial is planned to validate the research and affirm the effectiveness of the new system as a clinical decision support tool for community based doctors.

Julian Baines, CEO of EKF, commented: "The success of this collaboration holds huge potential for changing the way in which cancer treatments can be prescribed. This is an exciting prospect which now has the backing of Becton Dickinson and the support of Greenville Health Systems as one of the most respected cancer institute in the US. PrecisonPath™ is one of a number of molecular initiatives which EKF is working on and which we believe will contribute to a leading suite of therapy enabling diagnostics products."

 

Enquiries:

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc	Tel: [phone]
David Evans, Executive Chairman	Mob: [phone]
Julian Baines, CEO	Mob: [phone]
Paul Foulger, CFO	Mob: [phone]
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Robert Naylor (Corporate Finance)	Tel: [phone]
Michael Seabrook (Sales)	Tel: [phone]
Walbrook PR Limited	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus	Mob: [phone]
Lianne Cawthorne	Mob: [phone]

About EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc - www.ekfdiagnostics.com

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc was formed in July 2010 following the acquisition of EKF-diagnostic GmbH for €14.32m and refocused its strategy to one of building a substantial point of care diagnostics business. As part of this strategy, the Group has integrated three further acquisitions, Quotient Diagnostics Limited (acquired in September 2010), Argutus Medical Limited (acquired in December 2010) and Stanbio Laboratory L.P. (acquired in June 2011). In 2013 EKF established a new subsidiary, EKF Molecular Diagnostics Ltd, to focus on molecular and companion diagnostics and acquired 360 Genomics Ltd, a business that owns diagnostics technologies for cancer gene detection.

The Company, with its head office in Cardiff and operations in London, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ireland and the US, is a leading diagnostics business, focussing on the development, production and distribution of chemical reagents and analysers for the testing of Glucose, Lactate, Haemoglobin, Haematocrit and HbA1c.

In March 2011 EKF entered into a distribution agreement with Alere Inc ("Alere"), a global diagnostics company, under which Alere was appointed the exclusive distributor of EKF's CLIA waived Hemo Control device and cuvettes in the US, Canada and United Kingdom. The device is distributed in the US under the name HemoPoint H2. 

In March 2014, EKF acquired Separation Technology, Inc., a Florida based manufacturer of in vitro diagnostics devices for the haematology testing market. In April 2014, EKF completed the acquisitions of Selah Genomics Inc., a US based developer of molecular diagnostics for personalised medicine and DiaSpect Medical AB., a Swedish based manufacturer of point-of-care haemoglobin analysers.

About Selah Genomics - www.selahgenomics.com

Selah Genomics is a clinical diagnostic specialist supporting healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry with advanced molecular and genomic diagnostic services. Selah's services add value to early stage drug development, clinical trials and regulatory processes in the pharmaceutical industry and helps clinicians and healthcare providers treat and monitor patients, thereby improving patient outcomes. With the Power of Precision, Selah Genomics provides the best in molecular diagnostic testing, assay validation and genomic profiling that all leads to one common goal: to provide better outcomes for patients.

About GHS's Institute for Translational Oncology Research

With a focus on translational research and personalized medicine, ITOR of GHS provides some of the most advanced cancer treatments available anywhere in the world while supporting industry's crucial need to achieve greater efficiency and expediency in bringing life-saving cancer drugs to patients. The effort to advance these goals led to the creation of ITOR - an evolutionary process that began in 2004.

About DecisionQ

DecisionQ Corporation is a predictive analytic company that uses its proprietary machine-learning technology to create the foundational insights that power many of today's data discovery systems. Our predictive models are at work in many industries, including healthcare, consumer products, finance, national security, and marketing communications.

About BD

BD is a leading medical technology company that partners with customers and stakeholders to address many of the world's most pressing and evolving health needs. Our innovative solutions are focused on improving drug delivery, enhancing the diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancers, supporting the management of diabetes and advancing cellular research. We are more than 30,000 associates in 50 countries who strive to fulfil our purpose of "Helping all people live healthy lives" by advancing the quality, accessibility, safety and affordability of healthcare around the world. For more information, please visit www.bd.com.

 

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