NEW YORK — Previse said on Thursday that it has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support additional clinical testing of Esopredict, the company's recently launched laboratory-developed real-time PCR test for esophageal cancer risk.
Esopredict is intended to aid gastroenterologists in personalizing treatment for patients with Barrett's esophagus, a cancer precursor condition in which the tissue lining the esophagus changes and becomes more like the tissue that lines the intestines. The assay, which was launched earlier this year, identifies changes in the DNA methylation levels of four genes in esophageal cell samples that reflect a patient's risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or cancer over a five-year period.
Previse — formerly known as Capsulomics — said that the newly awarded Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant will be used to fund independent clinical validation of Esopredict and a clinical utility study to help understand how gastroenterologists use test results to enhance patient care and outcomes.