Sydney-based Minomic International was founded in 2007 by a group of eminent scientists convinced that biomarkers would be ‘the next big thing’ in the detection and treatment of human disease.
Eight years on and the company's prostate cancer diagnostic test, MiCheck, is navigating the commercialisation process.
It was recently presented to international delegates at the American Urology Association late breaking science plenary session.
The test works by screening for a proprietary biomarker known as the MIL-38 antigen, which is present on the surface of prostate cancer cells and not found on healthy prostate cells.
According to the company, studies to date suggest the MiCheck technology delivers a result almost twice as specific as the commonly used Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test.
In Australia, 20,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year. It is estimated that 60 per cent of men are falsely diagnosed with the disease after recording positive PSA test results.
Following a successful trial with 300 patients, Minomic is planning the launch of further trials of the technology in the United Kingdom and the US later this year.
In the trial, which was the subject of the presentation at the American Urology Association conference, MiCheck had a demonstrated specificity of 85 per cent, compared to just 40 per cent for existing PSA screening technology.
Minomic Chief Executive Officer Dr Brad Walsh has previously described these results as “outstanding”, saying the trial was a significant step towards the test being commercially available.
The company says that it is currently going through the process of registering the product for CE Mark and FDA approval, which will enable the test to be marketed and sold in the US and the 33 member countries within the European Economic Area, potentially this year.