image: From left to right; Junior Scientist Mike Wong, Research Technician Renjith Pillai and Chief Scientific Officer Desmond Pink "Grew a Mo" to support Prostate Cancer Screening Research and Development. view more
Credit: Perrin H Beatty
Edmonton, Alberta - Nanostics Inc. announced today that from the launch of its clinical validation study for ClarityDX Prostate, recruitment of men increased significantly in November, pushing the number of men enrolled over 200. This coincided with the "Grow a Mo" (mustache) campaign from the global charity Movember and Alberta Cancer Foundation's Giving Tuesday 2019 campaign. Funding support to develop our novel blood screening test for early diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer continues to come from generous donors through the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
The clinical validation study, co-sponsored by the Alberta Prostate Cancer Research Initiative (APCaRI) and DynaLIFE Medical Labs, will recruit 2,800 men with elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. Additional funding for the clinical study comes from the Alberta Innovates-ASBIRI program, Bird Dogs for Prostate Cancer Research, Movember and the University of Alberta.
Movember rebrands November as Movember to raise funds for research in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. The Alberta Cancer Foundation is Alberta's largest philanthropic investor in cancer research and is the official fundraising partner for all Alberta Health Services cancer centres. The Alberta Cancer Foundation is also a philanthropic organization that relies on the financial support of generous donors. On #GivingTuesday 2019, donations to the Alberta Cancer Foundation will have three times the impact thanks to a triple matching gift offer made possible by two dedicated Alberta families who have each pledged $50,000.
"We are overwhelmed by the support we've received from people all over Alberta as we work to validate the ClarityDX Prostate test" John Lewis, Sojonky Chair in Prostate Cancer Research at the University of Alberta and CEO of Nanostics said, "Improving the accuracy of prostate cancer screening will have a significant impact on men and their families in this province and beyond."
The potential impact of the ClarityDX Prostate test is considerable; implementation could eliminate up to 600,000 unnecessary biopsies, 24,000 hospitalizations and up to 50% of unnecessary treatments for prostate cancer in North America. Beyond estimated cost savings to the healthcare system of more than $1.4B per year, this will have a dramatic impact on the healthcare experience and quality of life for men.
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About Nanostics Inc.
Nanostics is a privately held company focused on the development and commercialization of novel and non-invasive diagnostic tests. Our core technology can diagnose disease from a simple blood test by combining a highly sensitive extracellular vesicle (EV) detection platform with advanced machine learning algorithms. Our novel technology is applicable to a wide range of cancers and other diseases. Our lead product, ClarityDX Prostate, is set to become the first clinically validated test using this exciting new EV detection technology.
About Alberta Cancer Foundation
We bring together donors, patients, health-care providers and researchers, because we know this is the fastest way to close the gap between diagnosis and cure. We are the official fundraising partner for all 17 Alberta Health Services cancer centres in Alberta, including the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary and the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. Through this partnership, we are able to make the most significant impact for patients.
About Movember
Movember has been working in the area of men's health since 2004 and continue to better our understanding of men and their perceptions about health. We have worked with our men's health partners and leading experts in the field to fund research and report insights that we share as part of our global knowledge translation efforts.