Glycotest, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) in Athens, Georgia to develop novel glycomic assays for its HCC Panel blood test, aimed at early-stage liver cancer detection. The agreement moves Glycotest towards commercialising its breakthrough platform, leveraging significant R&D efforts to tackle Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), the most common and lethal form of liver cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement, Glycotest will fund the development of the new assays at the CCRC, with Glycotest securing exclusive rights to the resulting intellectual property. The new assays developed by the CCRC will be deployed by Glycotest in its HCC Panel test. The assay development work will be spearheaded by Dr Parastoo Azadi, Associate Director of CCRC Service and Training.
Glycotest is a liver disease diagnostics company commercialising new and unique blood tests for liver cancers and fibrosis-cirrhosis. The Company has made huge strides in developing its innovative diagnostic technology and the deal with CCRC, a world leader in glycoscience, marks a crucial step toward market launch.
Charles Swindell, PhD, CEO, Glycotest, commented:
“Glycotest is fortunate to partner with the CCRC—a world renowned innovator in glycoscience testing methodology—on this final chapter in making the HCC Panel test available to liver disease patients and their physicians. We believe the HCC Panel could become a significant tool for better identification of early-stage HCC patients eligible for potentially curative therapy.”
The CCRC’s expertise will enhance Glycotest’s proprietary HCC Panel, which has already shown promise in identifying early-stage liver cancer—where treatment options can be most effective. The potential market is huge, with an estimated three million patients in the US, and potentially up to 380 million patients worldwide, eligible for routine HCC surveillance testing. Glycotest employs unique non-invasive blood tests based on proprietary serum glycoprotein biomarkers, biomarker panels and assay technology that exploit novel carbohydrate-based disease signal chemistry.
The CCRC is a long-standing centre of excellence in the glycosciences, the branch of science that investigates the structure, biosynthesis, and biological functions of molecules that contain carbohydrates. With expertise and resources in a rich array of sophisticated instrumental techniques key to glycoscience research, the CCRC is uniquely positioned to collaborate with Glycotest on this important project focusing on the development of superior mass spectroscopy-based glycomic assays.
Parastoo Azadi, PhD, Associate Director of the CCRC-Service and Training, said:
“Glycomic and glycoproteomic analyses possess remarkable potential for enhancing diagnostic tests, especially in the realm of liver disease. We are eager to apply our expertise in carbohydrate analysis development in collaboration with Glycotest, aiming to innovate new glycomic and glycoproteomic methodologies for glycoprotein biomarkers.”
Large Biobank Now Ready for Commercial Push
Glycotest’s proprietary HCC Panel blood test, powered by novel glycoprotein biomarkers and an advanced scoring algorithm, is intended to transform liver cancer detection. Crucially, the Company has successfully completed patient enrolment and sample collection for its HCC Panel clinical validation study, carried out across 20 major medical centres under the leadership of key opinion leaders.
This effort has resulted in the creation of a world-leading biobank, now one of the largest collections of blood samples globally for HCC test validation. The biobank provides a highly valuable resource to confirm the performance of Glycotest’s HCC Panel to identify early-stage, potentially curable liver cancer.
Dr Ilian Iliev, Managing Director of EMV Capital, said that:
“We are delighted to announce the partnership between Glycotest and the University of Georgia, which has been ranked as a Top 20 US public university for the eighth consecutive year by US News & World Report. Its standing as one of the best public institutions in the US is a testament to its exceptional standards, and this partnership recognises the quality of Glycotest’s important work. Charles and his team have made tremendous progress towards developing assays in the fight against liver cancer, and this is the next step in continuing this important work. It is through these partnerships – of corporates such as Glycotest, and esteemed public institutions such as the University of Georgia – that advances in the fight against the scourge of cancer are made.”
