Startups, Diagnostics

MDxHealth buys liquid biopsy prostate cancer test for $8.8M

MDxHealth, the maker of prostate cancer diagnostics, just acquired Dutch liquid biopsy company NovioGendix for $8.8 million. With the new urine-based test, slated for release next year under the name SelectMDx, it aims to reduce unnecessary biopsies for prostate cancer.

By Meghana Keshavan on September 15, 2015 3:46 pm

 

Prostate cancer diagnostics company MDxHealth announced it’ll acquire Netherlands-based liquid biopsy testmaker NovioGendix  for $8.8 million.

NovioGendix has developed a prostate cancer liquid biopsy test, for which it holds a CE Mark. The urine-based test will be launched in the U.S. next year under the name SelectMDx.

About 1.3 million biopsies are conducted each year to diagnose prostate cancer – but only about 240,000 men have the cancer, indicating that the majority of these tests are excessive. The test aims to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies among men who do not have cancer, as well as determine who has an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

The Irvine, California-based MDxHealth has a prostate cancer test called ConfirmMDx that already works to identify which patients require further biopsy examination for prostate cancer, and who doesn’t.

Liquid biopsy testing is emerging as a promising alternative to standard biopsy, which is invasive and time-consuming. With a simple urine or blood sample, the testing captures data on circulating tumor DNA, and determines whether a person has cancer. The San Diego-based Pathway Genomics, for instance, just released a liquid biopsy test that determines whether patients with a high risk for cancer are actually ill.

MDxHealth told Reuters that the market segment for urine-based prostate cancer liquid biopsy is worth about $600 million. The company will also launch a urine-based test for bladder cancer next year, and aims to command a market worth $2.75 billion.