Bill Gates is backing this Hong Kong biotech start-up that can screen for cancer through a sample of urine or blood. Here’s why
- Kwun Tong-based Phase Scientific International says it has developed a new method of sample preparation that addresses shortcomings in current screening procedures
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is among the financial backers who have put US$12 million behind this start-up
A Hong Kong biotechnology start-up claims to have come up with a new procedure that could dramatically improve the efficiency and lower the cost of cancer screening.
Phase Scientific International’s has developed a new way of preparing samples for liquid biopsy, a diagnostic screening tool to detect cancer cells or their DNA fragments in fluids such as blood and urine.
In the short to medium term, the nascent technique of liquid biopsy could allow doctors to more accurately monitor a tumour’s progress and its response to drugs, without the need to obtain a tissue sample – an invasive, costly and time-consuming procedure.
This would also be helpful for detecting relapses in patients who had undergone treatment to remove or shrink tumours to the point that they are undetectable by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which themselves carry the risk of exposing patients to radiation.
In the longer term, researchers hope liquid biopsy can be used to test asymptomatic populations – people showing no symptoms – for different types of cancer to achieve early detection and increase the odds of successful treatment.