NEW YORK – Swiss startup 4D Lifetec and epigenetic diagnostic firm VolitionRx said Tuesday that they have partnered to evaluate whether combining their respective assay technologies can better identify individuals with early-stage cancer.
Under the agreement the companies intend to conduct a clinical validation trial using their platforms in a set of lung cancer clinical samples.
"Both tests have already proven their unique advantages in the early diagnosis of cancer patients in clinical trials and complement each other in an ideal way," 4D Lifetec CEO Arne Faisst said in a statement.
4D's technology, called the 4D Lifetest, uses gel electrophoresis on peripheral blood samples to measure levels of DNA repair deficiency via the accumulation of DNA damage. An algorithm uses this information to predict the presence of cancer.
Volition's approach, which it calls NuQ, uses immunoassays to bind to and detect protein structures within circulating nucleosomes.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. According to 4D Lifetec, the companies intend to bundle scientific and human resources and have already begun exchanging clinical protocols for their respective technologies ahead of the planned combined validation.