Development of a novel blood test for the early and more accurate diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Almost 460,000 people a year are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer across the world, with the number of cases predicted to rise by 6% over the coming decades due to a plateau in research developments and therapeutic advancements. Unfortunately, due to non-specific symptoms which often present late, and the current sub-optimal diagnostic tests for pancreatic cancer, it is often only diagnosed in the later stages of the disease, and usually when it has already spread to secondary locations. The survival statistics are alarming, with less than 30% of patients suitable candidates for receiving any surgery or treatment after diagnosis and over 75% of patients do not survive for more than a year.

The current blood test for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is wholly inadequate, being only raised in ~50% of cases, also raised in a plethora of other benign unrelated conditions, or does not detect the cancer until late in the disease progression. Furthermore, there is currently no screening tool for people who are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

GenoME builds on its success with OvaME, a blood test for early detection of ovarian cancer. We are now aiming to develop a simple blood test which detects specific modifications of DNA (DNA methylation) which are present in the early stages of pancreatic cancer. Our candidate DNAme markers display potential superior accuracy and reliability over the current pancreatic cancer blood test, potentially improving the survival and quality of life of those affected. Whilst this test, PanME, will initially be launched as a diagnostic tool for symptomatic individuals, the long-term ambition for GenoME is to market the test as the world's first screening tool for pancreatic cancer. Post launch, this would require a larger long-term clinical validation in order to define a pancreatic screening programme.

The PanME pancreatic cancer test is the second product for the company. Successful demonstration of applying our platform technology to a new disease area will enable us to raise the further critical funds required to expand our biomarker development for not just other cancer types but also a multitude of various other diseases which have classically lacked in research and diagnostic improvements or knowledge, such as endometriosis.