The company, located in the University of Valencia Science Park, will finance the analysis and will have the exclusive exploitation license of this medical advance
The Valencian company Bemygene and the Health Research Institute (IIS) of the La Fe Hospital in Valencia will develop an epigenetic analysis that allows early diagnosis of lung cancer in those cases in which biopsy is not feasible or when the cytology is inconclusive. "We estimate that by 2020 this new technology may already be in the market, both in public and private health centers," advances Teresa Valdés, CEO of this marketer and consultant specializing in advanced cancer prevention and genetic counseling services.
The firm has signed an agreement with the research team that has obtained the necessary algorithm to combine the epigenetic state of four genes and generate a probability value of lung cancer personalized for each patient. Directed by the director of the Epigenomics Unit and member of the Biomarkers and Precision Medicine Group of IIS La Fe, Juan Sandoval, the team also includes scientists from the Biomedical Research Institute of Bellvitge (IDIBELL) and the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA).
According to Valdés, "we have agreed that Bemygene will finance this epigenetic analysis and, therefore, will have exclusive exploitation license." "Our goal," she continues, "is that research and innovation reach the patient long before the laboratory, so we developed a study that has allowed us to define the segment of patients for whom this analysis is really necessary," explains the scientist and technologist
The main utility of this analysis is to detect lung cancer "in those patients who have symptoms, but whose nodules are so small that they are difficult to locate." In addition, adds Teresa Valdés, "this tool, based on a liquid biopsy, is capable of identifying false negatives from cytology tests."
With the support of the CREATEC Program
To make this progress a reality, Bemygene has the financing of the CREATEC Program of the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), granted in April 2018. It will cover 50 percent of the cost.
The company has spent two rounds this year with the crowdfunding platform Colectual, the first of € 20,000 and the second of € 60,000; the latter with the support of the Reciprocal Guarantee Society (SGR).
Bemygene is part of the board of directors of the Association of Companies and Entities of the BIO sector of the Valencian region (BIOVAL) and was recognized in 2017 with the second prize of the 5U CV Startup contest, awarded by the five Valencian public universities and the Generalitat.