QuantuMDx in the United Kingdom won some major new funding for what will hopefully become a superquick cancer diagnostic test. The government-backed Biomedical Catalyst initiative will contribute $2.2 million to the project, which has more than $4.4 million in funding so far.
While it's not quite drive-through diagnostic testing, QuantuMDx's technology will enable tumor testing to both diagnose and stage cancer in less than 20 minutes. The funding, as part of what is dubbed the QCancer project, is designed to enable the creation of a low-cost device that allows histopathologists or lab technicians to genotype, tumor stage and profile a cancer within minutes. The project will use QuantuMDx's nanowire technology.
Right now, the process can take a number of weeks, CEO Elaine Warburton notes in a statement, because tumor samples must be sent to a centralized gene-sequencing laboratory, a process that can become costly. Certainly, a quick, reliable diagnostic could be a changer, and the company's work is worth watching closely in the months ahead.
QuantuMDx launched in 2008 in co-founder Jonathan O'Halloran's garage, the company notes on its web site.
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