Tagomics has been awarded 拢860,000 ($1.1m) from Innovate UK to develop a test for diagnosing early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC).
The Cambridge, UK-based company said the money from the UK government innovation agency鈥檚 Biomedical Catalyst programme would help fund a 拢1.2m project that is applying its Interlace multiomics workflow platform towards the detection of genetic and epigenetic mutations associated with CRC. This includes the development of new models for analysing patients鈥� multiomic profiles to identify new disease biomarkers.
Once the project concludes, a pilot study of the diagnostic test will be undertaken with the UK National Health Service (NHS). Led by Dr Arash Assadsangabi, consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the Northern Care Alliance Research Collection biobank, the study will profile 250 patients suspected of having CRC to validate identified biomarkers and demonstrate multiomic profiling鈥檚 efficacy in the early detection of the disease.
Tagomics鈥� chief scientific officer and co-founder, Dr Robert Neely said: 鈥淲e believe that the unique, information-rich dataset that Interlace provides us will be pivotal in detecting CRC at the earliest possible stages of development, enabling treatment of the cancer when it is most vulnerable to modern therapeutics, with the aim of dramatically improving patient outcomes.鈥�
Upon completion of the project, Tagomics will look to further expand the capabilities and applications of its Interlace platform with the support of Agilent Technologies, building on an established partnership that was key to the early development of the platform, Dr Neely added.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 107,320 new cases of colon cancer and 46,950 new cases of rectal cancer in 2025.
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By GlobalDataAccording to GlobalData analysis, with early detection of CRC critical in reducing the disease鈥檚 mortality rate, in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests have a critical role to play in bridging the disease鈥檚 screening gap, with company鈥檚 such as Guardant Health at work on developing patient-first tests to create solutions that make patient care more accessible.
骋耻补谤诲补苍迟鈥檚 SHIELD test, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a primary screening option for CRC in 2024, is intended to detect alterations in the blood associated with CRC.
