Staying up-to-date has never been simpler. Sign up for the free GenePool newsletter today!
NAMUR, Belgium, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- VolitionRx Limited (VNRX.OB), a life sciences company focused on developing blood-based diagnostic tests, announces that it has signed an agreement with Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, for two colorectal cancer (CRC) clinical trials. The trials will analyze blood samples from approximately 10,800 patients, using VolitionRx’s proprietary NuQ® tests.
The two trials are, as follows:
- Retrospective Study:
- Volition will analyze samples collected in 2010-2012 of approximately 4,800 patients with colorectal cancer, other malignancies, polyps or adenomas, and benign bowel diseases all of whom have undergone a colonoscopy; with full access to all national registries and databases (electronic audit). The trial will commence in June 2013 with a pilot study of 1,000 of these samples.
- Prospective Study, to be sponsored jointly by VolitionRx, a top-10 global diagnostics company and the University of Copenhagen:
- Collection is due to commence in Denmark in April 2014 for a 6,000 patient colorectal cancer screening population trial.
The patient blood samples to be analyzed during the trial have been and will be collected under the direction of Professor Hans Jorgen Nielsen, Professor of Surgical Oncology at the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at Hvidovre Hospital, part of the University of Copenhagen. They will be provided to VolitionRx blinded and randomized.
Professor Nielsen says of the trial: “I am more than happy to provide the samples I have collected over the past two years for this valuable CRC retrospective trial, and I hope that the forthcoming prospective screening study will assist Volition in the development of such an important new technology for early stage cancer detection.”
Dr. Jake Micallef, Chief Scientific Officer of VolitionRx, says: “Professor Nielsen’s team has collected a high quality bank of blood samples with detailed associated medical histories, taken from patients according to strict Standard Operating Procedures optimized over a number of years. Following our analysis of the blood samples, on a randomized and anonymized basis, we will analyze our results in relation to colonoscopy findings as well as a variety of medical history and other factors, to demonstrate the performance of simple NuQ® blood tests in relation to the invasive and expensive current diagnostic gold standard.”
VolitionRx is developing blood based diagnostic tests for different types of cancer, based on the science of Nucleosomics®: the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream an indication that cancer is present. The Hvidovre Hospital trial data, once complete, will be used to apply for a CE mark for a colorectal cancer test, and will also be submitted to the FDA. The retrospective samples are being provided to VolitionRx free of charge, while the company is expected to pay approximately $1.8 million towards collection of the prospective samples.
Colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide, after lung and breast cancers, with approximately 1.24 million new cases diagnosed each year. In the United States alone, 136,717 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2009, with 51,848 dying from the disease that year.
About VolitionRx
VolitionRx is a life sciences company whose goal is to make its non-invasive blood tests for cancer as common and simple to use as existing diabetic and cholesterol tests on similar formats.
VolitionRx’s development activities are currently centered in Belgium with a focus on bringing its revolutionary diagnostic products to market first in Europe, then the U.S. and worldwide.
You can find more information about VolitionRx at our website at www.volitionrx.com, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/VolitionRx, LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/1364072?trk=tyah or Facebook at www.facebook.com/volitionrx.
Colorectal cancer figures sourced from http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/statistics/ and http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/bowel/incidence/uk-bowel-cancer-incidence-statistics#geog.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this press release may be “forward-looking statements”. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “optimizing,” “potential,” “goal,” and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, its business or management, identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company’s business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may, and probably will, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those risks discussed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE VolitionRx
Help employers find you! Check out all the jobs and post your resume.
