NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Integrated Diagnostics said today that Medicare contractor Palmetto GBA has issued a draft local coverage determination proposing coverage of its Xpresys Lung 2 lung cancer test.
The company also announced that it has raised $6.1 million in Series C funding from Baird Capital and InterWest Partners.
The Xpresys Lung 2 test is a refined version of Indi's original Xpresys test. Both are intended to aid doctors in identifying lung nodules detected via CT scans that are likely benign, which could spare patients expensive and invasive procedures like fine needle aspiration and thoracotomies.
The original test used multiple-reaction monitoring mass spec to quantify the levels of 11 proteins in patient blood samples. The Xpresys Lung 2 test measures only two proteins, both taken from the original panel of 11, and combines measurements of these proteins with clinical factors like nodule size, location, and morphology, and patient age and smoking status.
"Xpresys Lung was design to address the most pressing need in nodule management —reducing the number of invasive diagnostic and surgical resections performed on benign lung nodule patients," Indi CEO Albert Luderer said in a statement. He added that the company estimated elimination of surgical interventions in patients with benign nodules could save an average of around $35,000 per patient.