Medicines Discovery Catapult and SMi gain funding for ‘one second’ biomarker technology
29 Jan 2023
A project that aims to detect several cancer-associated biomarkers from a single blood sample in under a second has secured a Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) grant.
Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) and partner, drug discovery firm SMi, hope that their new approach will be able to transform normal cancer screening and treatment efficacy monitoring
Liquid biopsies, which involve blood sample analysed for minute cancer biomarkers perform a key role in detection, treatment guidance and follow up treatment but take up can be hindered by time and cost involved.
The MDC, the UK’s catapult centre for medicine research, plans to harness the SMi's super-resolution optical platform to inspect biopsies at single molecule resolution, allowing detection and quantifying of multiple cancer indicators.
It is hoped the SMi technology can rapidly and simultaneously detect different cancer-associated biomarkers from a single patient blood sample, within less than a second. This could reduce the need for biochemical assays and next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques.
Lead Scientist at Medicines Discovery Catapult Dr Matthew Burnham said: "MDC is delighted to continue our partnership with SMi, to transform screening and treatment for cancer patients. We are pleased to have secured this funding to build upon our first joint study on infectious disease detection.”
Bruker-Biognosys move targets global markets: Bruker and Biognosys are partnering to deliver advanced proteomics CRO services aimed at global customers for biopharma and biomarkers.
Bruker investment will enable Biognosys’ CRO services and Spectronaut software tools to reach a wider market and tap into opportunities created for next generation technology by demand for proteomics research, drug discovery and delivery.
