Johns Hopkins https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org researchers have developed a blood test designed to incorporate earlier cancer detection into routine medical care. CancerSEEK, a liquid biopsy test to detect multiple cancer types earlier was developed by the Thrive Earlier Detection Corporation https://www.linkedin.com/company/thrivedetect.
The new company launched with $110 million in Series A funding conduct their R&D in Baltimore at the Johns Hopkins Innovation Hub. Third Rock Ventures https://thirdrockventure.corp, a Boston-based healthcare venture firm led the financing.
CancerSEEK interrogates genomic mutations in circulating tumors DNA and cancer associated protein markers in plasma to identify abnormalities that are common across multiple cancers. These cancers include ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreas, and esophageal which are cancers that are not screened on a routine basis for average risk individuals.
“This is a milestone moment in the development of Johns Hopkins biotech ecosystem”, said Christy Wyskiel, Head of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures https://ventures.jhu.edu which licenses technology and supports university startups.
CancerSEEK will be used to complement other screening tools and designed to be used in routine medical care to identify multiple cancer types at earlier stages. Thrive Corporation aims to provide support in result interpretation, confirmatory diagnostic testing, and provide guidance for additional clinical care where appropriate.
A study of CancerSEEK is underway in healthy individuals which is called the DETECT study. The study is being led by investigators at the JHU School of Medicine in partnership with Geisinger and the Thrive Corporation.