SAN FRANCISCO and BALTIMORE, Jan. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTraces Inc., a Sykesville, Maryland-based cancer diagnostics company with a unique patented and patent-pending blood test which accesses the tumor microenvironment (TME), announced today it presented as a finalist at the “RESI (Redefining Early Stage Investments) San Francisco 2018, an investment competition for early-stage life science companies. Coinciding with the 36th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2018 (#JPMHC18), the RESI JPM Innovation Challenge is an investor and partnering conference attended by biotechnology and pharmaceutical executives and investment professionals. OTraces’ senior executives report scheduling a series of investor meetings in and around both life sciences conferences as a result.
Cancer research experts, such as prostate cancer researcher Kenneth J. Pienta, MD of Johns Hopkins Medical School, familiar with OTraces’ test, view accessing and analyzing TME biomarker activity as a major advance in cancer treatment.
OTraces’ unique method uses simple serum measurements as a proxy for the protein actions in the TME in an aggressive tumor, determining the blood signature of the aggressive TME. This is then compared to the serum signature of non-aggressive (or inactive) tumors (for active surveillance), or in patients with no TME at all i.e. no tumor (for screening tests).
OTraces’ TME Liquid BiopsyTM blood test for prostate cancer will soon enter the final stages of Johns Hopkins validation, after which the company plans to launch a CLIA lab test for PCa active surveillance monitoring on low Gleason men in the U.S. (which is not expected to require FDA approval) by 4Q 2018.
For detailed information on the technology, OTraces refers interested parties to their website to view:
- OTraces’ RESI San Francisco 2018 Innovation Challenge Poster Presentation
- The “Diagnostic Proteomics – A New Approach” White paper
- OTraces feature article, GenomeWeb (July 27, 2017)
DNA liquid biopsy is the biggest trend in cancer blood testing in a long time — more than 30 companies have been funded and $2 billion has been raised since Grail, Inc. was launched the 2016 JPM conference in San Francisco. The technology has attracted broad interest in drug development and companion diagnostics, but progress toward developing an accurate cancer blood test for screening or tumor surveillance has not happened.
About OTraces, Inc,
OTraces, Inc. (www.OTraces.com) is a privately held biotech company that has developed an advanced oncology diagnostic platform using a protein-based technology (proteomics). The technology detects cancers by using simple blood tests with patent (pending) noise suppression to enhance accuracy well above the known industry averages.
OTraces plans to raise $2 million to complete the prostate cancer validation trials at Johns Hopkins, launch a U.S. based CLIA-lab, and shortly thereafter begin sales of a LDT test for active surveillance of prostate cancer patients. OTraces’ software is extensively patented, biomarker-agnostic and cloud-based. Management believes the company’s tests offer a range of clinical and cost advantages with respect to meeting global screening and disease-monitoring criteria.
Investor Relations:
Keith Lingenfelter
CEO and Chairman OTraces Inc.
keith.lingenfelter@otraces.com
+01-301-529 3824 cell/txt
Media Relations:
Nancy Rose Senich
nancy@rose4results.com
+01-202-262-6996 cell/txt