HealthTell Inc., an Arizona State University spinout, has raised $4 million to commercialize a test for lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. The Chandler, Ariz.-based startup is working to develop a variety of health monitoring tools to check the status of patients who are battling any of 30 illnesses, ranging from cancer to infectious disease.
According to a statement:
Instead of trying to measure the pathogen directly, the company measures the body’s unique response (its “immunosignature”) to a given disease or disease state. By understanding what each immunosignature means and how it changes over time, HealthTell can provide a broad menu of highly accurate tests that are capable of detecting diseases much earlier and less invasively than is possible today.
The startup has gotten the attention of the US military, too:
HealthTell is also supplying chips for two ASU projects funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and its Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). DTRA is interested in using the diagnostic test to check the health of soldiers in the field. HealthTell also won the 2012 Governor’s Award for Innovation in Arizona.
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.
