Vigilant Biosciences Inc. https://vigilantbiosciences.com has developed solutions to aid in the early detection and intervention of cancer. Currently, the vast majority of patients with oral cancer are detected through a visual and physical exam when symptoms are likely to indicate that the patient is in the late stage with oral cancer.
Recently it was announced that Vigilant received an award for $593,922 as part of a multi-million grant from NIH www.nih.gov. The funding will support a novel point-of-care test to improve early identification of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
The Vigilant Oral Cancer program is based on patented technology that measures soluble CD44, a tumor-initiating and stem cell-associated biomarker along with total protein levels which are clinically validated to be associated specifically with oral cancer.
The five year study will enroll 300 mouth and throat cancer patients plus control subjects at several institutional settings. The institutions participating in the study include University of California, San Diego (UCSD), New York University, John Hopkins, and Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Also, the San Diego Veterans Administration Hospital will be teaming up in the study.
According to Dr. Elizabeth Franzmann, Scientific Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Vigilant Biosciences, “The science behind our tests use unique biomarkers that can indicate presence of oral cancer, potentially before the physical symptoms are present. Now we will be able to further validate our technology and potentially expand to additional platforms and applications.”