Purdue-based company receives $400,000 in to research early diagnosis of cancer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. − A Purdue-based diagnostic company has received $400,000 in National Cancer Institute funding to go towards improving early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Amplified Sciences is a clinical-stage life sciences detection company that "licenses Purdue University innovations." It has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, grant of approximately $400,000 from the NCI to develop the early detection test.
CEO Diana Caldwell commented on how the incidental detection rate of cystic pancreatic lesions has increased significantly due to the aging population along with advances in clinical imaging technologies. Despite this, there is still a lack of definitive diagnostic measures to accurately assess the potentially malignancy of a cyst.
“Health care professionals need better tools to help them manage these patients and identify individuals most at risk for pancreatic cancer,” Caldwell said in a release. “Pancreatic cysts are a window to early detection and represent an important risk factor in identifying pancreatic cancer early.”
Caldwell further said that that NCI grant will help fund technical and clinical validation milestones, "including the procurement of banked patient samples and clinical trials."
Amplified Sciences' pancreatic diagnostic products are based on technology invented by V. Jo Davisson, a Purdue professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology. He serves as the company's Chief Scientific Officer.
“This award recognizes the strength of our scientific team, the potential of our chemistry platform and the National Institutes of Health’s interest in supporting early-stage diagnostics in this disease state,” Davisson said in a release.
View Amplified Sciences' website to learn more about the company.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue-based company receives funding for cancer diagnostic research
