NEW YORK – CorePath Laboratories announced on Thursday that it is partnering with UK-based Cizzle Biotechnology to develop and offer an early-stage lung cancer liquid biopsy test in the US.
Cizzle, a spinout from the University of York, discovered that lung cancer cells produce the CIZ1B variant of the CIZ1 gene, whose protein is part of the nuclear structure and controls gene expression. Its test detects the C1Z1B variant in blood samples and is designed to address false positive rates in low-dose CT scanning to avoid unnecessary invasive testing.
The companies signed a letter of intent for a strategic alliance in which CorePath, a full-service CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited cancer reference laboratory based in San Antonio, Texas, will commercialize the assay in the US with Cizzle receiving a proposed 15 percent royalties on all product and services offerings using CIZ1B in the US, according to a recorded interview with Cizzle Executive Chairman Allan Syms posted on the company’s website.
"The agreement with Cizzle Biotechnology represents a significant opportunity to provide early and cost-effective lung cancer detection via a simple and quick blood test which will result in significant cost savings downstream, avoiding expensive treatment, hospital admissions and ultimately saving lives," Aamir Ehsan, CEO of CorePath, said in a statement.