Imaged-based Diagnostic to detect eligible lung cancer patients to receive Targeted therapy

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

PreciousMD is female led and female dominated company found by Dr. Fatemeh Ameri in 2019 in London. At PreciousMD, we are developing a companion diagnostic to identify lung cancer pa-tients who can benefit from receiving epidermal-growth-factor receptor (EGFR) inhibi-ting drugs (i.e. targeted therapy). Worldwide, lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and remains the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality, with 2.1 million new lung cancer cases and 1.8 million deaths annually; representing close to 1 in 5 (18.4%) cancer deaths. In Europe about 320,000 people are diagnosed with the lung cancer annually, with 50% recur-rence and only a 12% survival rate. EGFR-inhibiting drugs demonstrated long-term survival for lung cancer patients, however, not everybody is eligible. The candidates are identified not by the type of cancer, but by the presence of EGFR-gene mutations. Therefore, detection of EGFR-mutation is essential before targeted therapy can be recommended. We developed our core technology that confirms the validity of our approach. We are now at a critical juncture where we need crucial clinical validation on our technology. To achieve this, we need a platform to enable us present our innovation to the experts. Having done our research, we have concluded that a web-based software suite capable of showcasing our algorithms would be the most effective way forward. This provides the foundation for validating our technology in clinical setting. This grant will enable us to develop and maintain this software suite. MedTech companies like us require more time and capital to grow than regular tech and even deep techs, because we need to get the regulatory approvals which can be extremely long and costly. The non-grant package of support provides us with an opportunity to engage with the Invest EU and Enterprise Europe Network which provide us with the right network, mentorship and investment we need to grow and serve cancer patients