Oncimmune Holdings plc (LON:ONC), the leading global immunodiagnostics group, has noted the national ITV News1 feature last weekend on Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT® Lung blood test titled “New Blood Test Provides Breakthrough in Lung Cancer Detection Rates”.
The news feature highlighted that, in the UK, more than 35,000 people die of lung cancer each year and most have their lung cancer diagnosed late thereby lowering their chances of survival. Oncimmune’s pioneering new lung cancer blood test enables lung cancer to be detected early which means clinicians can treat the disease and save lives.
Oncimmune’s technology focuses on identifying the immune system’s response to the presence of lung cancer. The body produces antibodies which, if detected by Oncimmune’s blood test, enables clinicians to focus their diagnosis on identifying the disease and treating it earlier than current clinical practice.
The news article noted that Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT Lung blood test has received a Medtech Innovation Briefing (“MIB”) from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (“NICE”). NICE reviewed EarlyCDT Lung for cancer risk stratification of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (“IPNs”). The briefing, intended to support NHS commissioners and staff who are considering using new medical or diagnostic technologies, states that EarlyCDT Lung enables earlier and accurate diagnosis of lung cancer in high risk patients which could mean intervention is offered early, with the potential benefit of early treatment and improved outcomes. The MIB also notes that this could have a wider benefit by saving other NHS resources (CT scanning and radiologists) and reducing waiting times.
The ITV news report concluded by saying that “the test has been recommended for use in the NHS and, if given full approval, many more patients could benefit from screening for this deadly disease.”
Adam M Hill, CEO of Oncimmune said: “We are delighted that Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT Lung blood test has received such international publicity. The benefits of offering patients the opportunity to identify lung cancer early are clear – early detection of this disease saves lives. We are actively engaged across the NHS to bring the blood test to clinicians and patients.”
1 https://www.itv.com/news/2020-08-08/new-blood-test-provides-breakthrough-in-lung-cancer-detection-rates
