<article><a href="http://www.volitionrx.com/" target="_blank">VolitionRx,</a> a Singapore-based medical technology venture that plans to bring low-cost cancer diagnostics tests to the masses, might be looking at a potential funding of up to $12 million.</article>

<a href="http://www.volitionrx.com/" target="_blank">VolitionRx,</a> a Singapore-based medical technology venture that plans to bring low-cost cancer diagnostics tests to the masses, might be looking at a potential funding of up to $12 million.
Beginning of the month, VolitionRX filed for an &#8220;uplisting&#8221; on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), superseding its existing listing on the US&#8217;s OTC Bulletin Board since October 2011 for a potential raising of funds in the range of $12 million.
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Founded in 2010, VolitionRx&#8217;s cancer diagnostic  test is blood-based (i.e. non-invasive) platform that can potentially diagnose a wide range of cancers. It&#8217;s proprietary NuQ diagnostics platform, powered by nucleosomics technology, works by identifying and measuring <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Nucleosome.html" target="_blank">nucleosomes</a> in one&#8217;s blood, an indication of cancer. These include colorectal and prostate cancers, which affect significant swathes of the global population.
The significant cost reduction may revolutionise the global cancer diagnostics market, which is projected to reach a market capitalist of $168.6 billion by 2020.
Singapore’s sophisticated healthcare system and reputation as Asia&#8217;s medtech hub were key factors in its choice as VolitionRx’s headquarters, according to CEO Cameron Reynolds.
&#8220;Short of a cure (for cancer), screening or testing is the next best thing&#8221; said Reynolds, adding that blood-based tests are the future of cancer diagnostics, due to their non-invasive nature.
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Early testing will aid in early intervention, treatment and remission of the cancer. Presently, most tests to detect colorectal cancer are highly invasive and expensive. Colonoscopy, for instance, uses a flexible tube about finger-thickness &#8211; attached to a small video camera &#8211; which is inserted through the rectum into the colon, and can reportedly set one back by S$500-1000 in a public hospital or up to S$1,200-3,700 in private clinics.
Dr Cheong Wai Kit, senior consultant at the <a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.ncis.com.sg/" target="_blank">National University Cancer Institute</a>&#8216;s Division of Surgical Oncology explained: &#8220;The percentage of people in Singapore who have undergone colonoscopy is low (even though) colorectal cancer is the most common cancer in Singapore. Screening is vital and it does save lives.”
Clinical trials in Europe and the US involved close to 25,000 patients and have shown promising outcomes, with the NuQ platform able to accurately detect 84 per cent of colorectal cancers at 78 per cent specificity; 80 per cent of prostate cancers at 70 per cent specificity; and 84 per cent of early, surgically treatable pancreatic cancers at a high 92 per cent specificity.
Able to determine up to 12 types of cancer and yielding significant cost savings for cancer testing, mainly due to its ability to operate on existing standard lab equipment, VolitionRX is aiming for market-entry of the technology in the EU and North America, followed by the Asia-Pacific.
Similarly, there are plans in the pipeline for further expansion and consolidation of its infrastructure in Singapore. It recently partnered with the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for a pilot study on ovarian cancer, its first study involving Asian patients.
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Jake Micallef, the company&#8217;s chief scientific officer said: &#8220;This pilot study is incredibly important for us. If the pilot results are favourable and we successfully commercialise the test, we intend to set up a Centre of Excellence in Singapore to service the whole Asian region with regard to screening for ovarian cancer, a cancer for which early detection is crucial.”

MedTech startup VolitionRx looking at $12m potential funding

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MedTech startup VolitionRx looking at $12m potential funding

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