RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. has acquired substantially all of the assets of Oncimmune USA, LLC, the subsidiary of Oncimmune Ltd., a United Kingdom-based company that developed, patented and commercialized a simple physician-ordered blood test to aid in the risk assessment and early detection of lung cancer. HDL, Inc. will enter a licensing agreement with Oncimmune Ltd., which provides the Virginia company with the exclusive right to market and perform EarlyCDT-Lung testing in the U.S. Terms of the private agreement were not disclosed.
Oncimmune USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nottingham-based Oncimmune Ltd., which launched its platform for early cancer detection, called EarlyCDT, in 2009. The technology was originally developed by Nottingham University; Oncimmune Ltd.'s subsidiary and CLIA-certified laboratory, Oncimmune USA, is based in De Soto, Kansas. EarlyCDT-Lung is the company’s first clinically validated and approved test. Under terms of an agreement with Oncimmune Ltd., HDL, Inc. will become the exclusive distribution and test service provider of EarlyCDT-Lung in the U.S. In addition, Oncimmune USA’s 25 employees will join the 740-employee HDL, Inc.
“Since the beginnings of Health Diagnostic Laboratory five years ago, we have always said that our model of early detection and prevention for cardiovascular disease is a platform to do the same with other diseases and chronic conditions, and this agreement with Oncimmune pushes us deeper into that mission by expanding our focus to include lung cancer,” said Tonya Mallory, HDL, Inc.'s President and CEO. “Early detection of disease is critical to maintaining health, extending lives, and lowering healthcare costs, and we look forward to integrating Oncimmune’s testing and its knowledge base into HDL.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women in the U.S., taking the lives of more people each year than colon, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers combined. Lung cancer claims more than three times as many men as prostate cancer and nearly twice as many women as breast cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2013 there will be approximately 228,000 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed and nearly 160,000 lung cancer associated deaths.
The acquisition of Oncimmune USA comes three months after HDL, Inc. formed a joint venture called Innovative Diagnostic Laboratory, LLC, which will offer a menu of advanced cancer tests leading with a blood-based colorectal cancer test called ColonSentry. The 25,000-square-foot IDL lab in Henrico County is located roughly nine miles northwest of HDL, Inc.'s downtown Richmond headquarters.
“Oncimmune’s subsidiary in the U.S. has been building sales and awareness of the EarlyCDT-Lung test on a steady basis for the past few years,” said Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley,Executive Chairman of Oncimmune Ltd. “By licensing our first test to HDL, we have secured access to a distribution channel that will deliver greater volume more quickly and at the same time guarantee sufficient revenues so that the company can accelerate the launch of our other early cancer detection tests.”
Oncimmune Ltd.'s EarlyCDT-HCC , a test for the early detection of hepatocellular cancer the most common form of liver cancer is in its final stages of validation. Trials the company has conducted show that Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT technology detects the majority of other solid cancers early, which is expected to lead to a family of early cancer detection tests over the next few years.
About Oncimmune USA, LLC
Founded in 2006, Oncimmune USA, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oncimmune Ltd. based in Nottingham, England. The company is committed to advancing early cancer detection through proprietary autoantibody assay technologies based on biological technologies. Oncimmune Ltd.'s mission is to develop early cancer detection tests to identify more than 90 percent of solid-tumor cancers, which make up 70 percent of all cancers including lung, breast, colorectal, prostate, stomach, pancreatic and ovarian. The metro Kansas City laboratory HDL, Inc. is acquiring from Oncimmune USA is CLIA-certified.
About Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc.
Founded in 2008, Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL, Inc.) is a leader in health management offering a comprehensive test menu of biomarkers of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and related diseases. HDL, Inc.'s systematic approach identifies factors contributing to disease and provides a basis for effective treatment, allowing physicians to more effectively manage patients. Individuals receive a personalized overview of their risk factors along with intensive counseling from expert Clinical Health Consultants at no additional cost, improving compliance and enhancing satisfaction. HDL, Inc. is a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory. For more information, visit myhdl.com, and make HDL, Inc. part of your digital lifestyle at Facebook.com/myhdl and Twitter.com/hdltweets.
SOURCE Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc.
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