NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – PapGene has been awarded a Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research grant worth up to $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to commercialize the company's test to detect ovarian and endometrial cancers.
PapGene's test identifies ovarian and endometrial cancers from routinely collected patient specimens based on a new approach referred to as "genetic cytology," said the company in a statement. The test couples massively parallel sequencing with proprietary error-reducing technology developed by the Ludwig Center at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
The Fast-Track grant will be released in two phases. Phase I will provide the company $297,000 to help it demonstrate the test's accuracy and clinical validity. Phase II will be awarded upon successful completion of Phase I and will provide the company with approximately $2 million to demonstrate the clinical utility of the test and launch its regulatory approval process.
"We are very excited that this award will help PapGene commercialize our innovative genetic testing technology and provide a significant new tool for detecting cancers while they are still in a curable stage," PapGene CEO Howie Kaufman said in a statement.