Newcastle cancer diagnosis firm's first commerical deal

Oct 22 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A FIRM which aims to revolutionise the way sufferers of cancer are diagnosed and treated has won its first commercial deal.

Newcastle-based Biosignatures is in the process of developing a test to help doctors decide if a particular drug will benefit individuals suffering from cancer.

Current tests to see if certain cancers are present in the body often involve invasive surgery while Biosignatures believes its system, involving a pin-prick blood test, could avoid the damage caused by surgery and increase survival rates.

Scientists at the firm aim to help doctors decide if a cancer drug can work for a patient, potentially saving the NHS millions of pounds a year and giving new hope to thousands of cancer sufferers.

The business, which is also embroiled in tests which could result in the earlier detection of life-threatening diseases, has now made its first commercial breakthrough with a deal.

The company has agreed a contract with South Tyneside medical testing kit maker Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDS) which is expected to help fund Biosignatures’ ongoing research and development. IDS has agreed licence terms to use biomarkers – biochemical signs which can be used to measure the progress of a disease or the effects of treatment – associated with kidney disease identified through Biosignatures’ discovery programme.

It is hoped the agreement will help accelerate the discovery of new disease biomarkers and in turn create related tests through IDS’s expertise in immunoassay development.

Prior to the agreement, Biosignatures founder and chief executive Will Dracup also served as a non-executive director of IDS.

The entrepreneur, who founded Newcastle-based life-science software company Nonlinear Dynamics, has now stepped down from his IDS role in the interest of commercial collaboration.

IDS said: “The board thanks Will for his valuable contribution while a board member and wishes him every success with his new endeavour.”

And IDS chief executive Roger Duggan said the company was very excited about the deal. “The enormous promise of the ‘proteomics approach’ to new biomarker discovery as embraced by many heavyweight academic and biotech giants has largely disappointed,” he said.

“We are particularly pleased to be working with a highly-innovative partner in Biosignatures who have an enlightened approach to proteomics based upon extensive hard-headed commercial experience.”