A Belfast diagnostics company has bagged £1.4 million in funding to develop its test for earlier and more accurate detection of ovarian cancer.
GenoME Diagnostics said it will use the investment to develop its lead product OvaMe, allowing the team to complete the testing phase, file for EU regulatory approval and expand its regulatory approach to the UK and North America. It will also allow the GenoME team to extend their novel technology to additional cancer types and enable them to consider further research into additional disease areas.
The firm also said it intends to expand headcount in the future.
“At GenoME, we are aiming to improve patient survival and quality of life through affordable and highly accurate tests,” Dr Shannon Beattie, CEO of GenoME Diagnostics said: This is a significant funding round for us and will help to further develop these life-changing products.
“Currently, a large proportion of ovarian cancer cases are caught at the later stages of the disease, so patients unfortunately have a very poor survival rate. Cancers detected at an earlier stage provide much more opportunity for intervention and improve patient survival.
“Milestones like these will be pivotal in opening conversations with public health bodies and allowing the team to progress our tests further to market. Our ultimate long-term ambition is to eventually enter public screening programmes, however our first market is disease monitoring and diagnosis.”
Chris Mosedale, Chief Business Officer of GenoME Diagnostics, welcomed the funding.
“The pipeline we have used to develop our ovarian test can be applied to a wide range of diseases and applications, even beyond cancer. There is very strong evidence that our technology could be used to diagnose other cancers and illnesses. This funding round will enable us to research and test this assumption further, improving the chances for more cancer patients.”
