“The agreement between Mayo Validation Support Services and our company signals an essential step forward in Biomoda’s commitment to developing and commercializing early non invasive diagnostic tests for lung cancer,” said Dr Herbert Whitaker vice president of Biomoda.
Lung cancer claims more lives than any other cancer. An estimated 162,460 deaths from lung cancer will occur in the US during 2006, accounting for 29% of all cancer deaths this year. The expected five-year survival rate for all patients in whom lung cancer is diagnosed is 15% and by contrast, the five-year survival rate for cases detected when the disease is still localized is 50%. At the present time, only 16% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at this early stage.
In early stages, the lung cancer patient usually does not exhibit symptoms. When symptoms manifest themselves, the cancer is often advanced. Biomoda’s test offers the potential to reverse these statistics by providing early non-invasive detection for individuals who may not be aware that they have lung cancer. The test can be implemented in an automated environment, and has the potential to screen large populations in a cost-effective manner.
Biomoda is a development stage in-vitro diagnostics company, is focused on research, development and commercialization of cancer diagnostics. The company’s proprietary technologies provide non-invasive approaches as cancer diagnostic products.