Instead of searching the blood for specific antigens that indicate the presence of cancer, a new diagnostic and prognostic test for certain cancers searches for the autoimmune signals that respond to those antigens.
Armune Bioscience Inc. is developing a test based on serum autoantibodies, which the company says are more stable than antigens and may be easier to detect during early stage cancer. First, the company is focusing on creating an alternative to the low-specificity, prostate-specific antigen test that’s the current standard for detecting prostate cancer. Then, it will turn its focus to using the same technology to help physicians detect and make better treatment decisions about lung and breast cancer, according to its website.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
A recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Armune has raised almost all of a $1.5 million debt and other securities offering that started in 2009. A message left for President and CEO Eli Thomssen was not immediately returned.
The startup raised a $1.1 million angel round in 2008, won a $500,000 award in December of 2010 from the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and has received additional funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.
In the U.S., an estimated 2.5 million men are living with prostate cancer, but only 25 percent to 35 percent of men who have a biopsy due to an elevated PSA level actually turn out to have it, according to the National Cancer Institute. Criticism of the test culminated in the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommending that not all men get screened with the PSA test.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new urine test for prostate cancer known as the Prostate Health Index to complement diagnostics, and several other researchers and companies are studying this space. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are developing a way to determine prostate cancer’s aggressiveness (one of Armune’s later goals), and a UCLA team is looking to reduce false positives. AnalizaDx, TeloVISION are also working on detection tests.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Based on technology licensed from the University of Michigan, Armune was formed in 2008 by members of the Apjohn Group with headquarters in Kalamazoo.
