Tag Archive for: VC

Early detection test GynTect® now available for Roche Diagnostics QPCR system

cobas Z480 Analyzer von Roche Diagnostics oncgnostics GmbH

Jena, 20. February, 2019 – The test for early detection of cervical cancer GynTect® may now also be performed on the cobas Z480 analyzer, a widely used quantitative PCR (QPCR) system from Roche Diagnostics. This is now possible through an extension of the GynTect® CE IVD mark (CE mark for in vitro diagnostics). The biotech company oncgnostics GmbH is developer and provider of GynTect®.

GynTect® allows a fast and reliable clarification, if a patient with abnormal Pap smear findings or an HPV infection, is about to develop or already has cervical cancer. GynTect® allows to detect modified, esp. methylated DNA regions. Methylation of these DNA regions specifically occurs in cervical cancer.

Performance of GynTect using the Cobas Z480
Two steps are required for the performance of GynTect®. In the first step a chemical treatment with bisulphite fixates the DNA methylation of the diagnostic material. For the detection of the marker regions a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is required. The cobas Z480 Analyzer by Roche Diagnostics allows the performance of such a diagnostic PCR. Based on the data obtained in the PCR, the GynTect® results are derived. Only originally methylated DNA regions present in the sample are amplified during the PCR. This procedure is termed methylation-specific PCR (MSP).

More laboratories may perform GynTect® now
“By now GynTect® could only be performed on the ABI7500 Real-Time PCR system from Life Technologies. Extension of the CE IVD mark now allows to run the test on the cobas Z480 PCR system as well. With its widespread availability many more laboratories now can perform GynTect® without any additional expenses”, Alfred Hansel, co-founder and CEO of oncgnostics said.

You may find free press material here:
www.oncgnostics.com/downloads
vimeo.com/243256803

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Cervical Cancer Screening: oncgnostics Closes further Investment Round

Das oncgnostics-Teamoncgnostics GmbH

Jena, October 17, 2018 – The Thuringian molecular diagnostics company oncgnostics, which quickly and successfully closed a 750,000 Euros crowd-investing round on Seedmatch early in 2018, now announces the closing of another similarly sized round. oncgnostics has developed the cervical cancer diagnostics test GynTect®, and a private investor circle now invests together with the  current institutional investor beteiligungsmanagement thüringen (bm-t). The company will use the total investment for performing further clinical trials and for intensifying its international marketing efforts.

 

At the end of 2017, oncgnostics started a second campaign for its diagnostic test GynTect via the crowd-investing platform Seedmatch. It took only 2.5 hours until the funding reached the threshold of 100,000 EUR, and only three weeks to reach a total sum of 750,000EUR, making : it the fastest crowd-investing campaign for a life sciences company in Germany. Now this sum will be doubled by beteiligungsmanagement thüringen (bm-t), which is already a key shareholder at oncgnostics, and by a circle of private investors.

 

“oncgnostics´ GynTect test addresses a potential billion-dollar market. This investment will allow the company to build targeted sales and marketing efforts in order to better access and develop this attractive market. Additionally, the company has a compelling technology pipeline, which will be further advanced with this capital. We´re very pleased to join this investment round“, Kevin Reeder, CEO at bm-t, stated.

 

Better options for early diagnosis

GynTect clarifies early and reliably, if a patient is about to develop or even already has developed a cervical lesion that may advance to cancer. This improves the risk assessment for cervical cancer screening: on the one hand, unnecessary and overly-hasty surgeries can be avoided. On the other hand, the chance for early and successful treatment is improved. Patients also lose their anxiety about unclear results based on the current screening and instead gain fast certainty.

 

“We are very pleased that our concept of using epigenetic markers in cancer diagnostics together with the market potential of our first test GynTect convinced new investors to join oncgnostics. Their investment enables us to improve our market opportunities not only through enhanced international marketing, but also through further product developments”, Dr. Alfred Hansel, CEO of oncgnostics, says.

 

Past and future developments

The first steps for international marketing were made with an exclusive out-licensing of GynTect to a Chinese partner for the Chinese market as well as with first contracts for distributing the test in selected European countries (Portugal, Slovakia and the Czech Republic). Further strategic and distribution partnerships are now sought, especially for the US market, but also for additional European markets. In December 2017, the first patients were enrolled in a prospective clinical trial, with a three-year duration and across ten gynaecological practices and clinical centers, with the aim of further demonstrating the prognostic power of GynTect . Another trial investigating the psychological burden of women with abnormal Pap smear and/or positive HPV test results was recently completed, and its results are scheduled to be published by the end of this year.

 

Together with clinical partners, oncgnostics is developing diagnostic tests for other cancers. The Thuringian company is currently validating epigenetic markers for use in head and neck cancer, and it is also targeting tests that will help to improve timely detection of ovarian cancer.

 

About oncgnostics GmbH:

oncgnostics GmbH was founded in 2012 from a university research group at the Jena University Gynaecology Department. As a molecular diagnostics firm, the Jena start-up has specialised in the early diagnosis of cancer. The company´s tests demonstrate characteristic epigenetic changes in cancer cells, known as DNA methylations. The patented biomarkers identified with specific algorithms form the central core of the products and are the foundation of the firm´s technological assets.

 

 

Free pictorial materials for dissemination may be found at: https://www.oncgnostics.com/downloads

https://tinyurl.com/oncgnostics

https://vimeo.com/243256803

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