NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Fluxion Biosciences has won a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Cancer Institute, which it plans to use to continue developing a platform for diagnosing cancer early in its progression, the company said today.
The company specifically plans to use the $200,000 grant to develop its microfluidic systems for magnetic-bead based cell separations and other instruments to detect tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream that appear in low concentrations in the early stages of cancer. These circulating tumor cells detach from primary tumors as part of the metastasizing process, and a diagnostic tool for these cells may provide monitoring for a patient's condition and response to therapy.
The technology also will be designed to detect other rare cell types, said Fluxion.