Prescient Medicine Holdings, LLC and Metabiomics Corp., have announced a joint venture to develop an innovative microbiome diagnostics platform for detecting precancerous colon polyps and diagnosing other types of gastrointestinal diseases including Crohn’s, colitis (IBD), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The partnership provides the expertise and resources to complete commercialization of Metabiomics’ pipeline of innovative molecular testing solutions. Current plans call for the tests to be available in 2020.
These highly innovative assays apply Metabiomics’ patented MultiTag™ Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and proprietary microbiome analytics platform to detect warning signs of polyps and carcinogenesis in the colon. Collectively, these tests are designed to provide healthcare practitioners with a menu of simple and cost-effective precision molecular diagnostic solutions.
“These simple yet incredibly powerful tools will dramatically change the equation when it comes to earlier identification of precancerous conditions, leading to early treatment decisions, reduced costs and better outcomes,”
said Keri Donaldson, Founder and CEO of Prescient Medicine.
“Metabiomics is an extraordinary partner in our mission to prevent disease and provide the very best care at the lowest possible cost to the healthcare system.”
More than 1.5 million people are diagnosed with colon cancer every year. The third most common cancer in the world, it kills more than 750,000 people annually. Treatment for colon cancer exceeds $14 billion annually in the U.S. alone. It has been demonstrated that with the early detection and removal of colon polyps, colon cancer can be prevented.
“The interrogation of the gut microbiome in order to assess GI health and predict colon cancer risk is a total game changer. Gastroenterologists have known for a long time that gut microbes are associated with GI disease. Now we’re finally applying these new metagenomics tools to analyze gut microbial DNA and bringing our understanding of GI disease to a new level.”
says Greg Kuehn, COO of Metabiomics.
“This test will save lives by making it much easier and far less costly to get screened for colon cancer. We have long been committed to improving the quality of life and reducing the morbidity and mortality of colon cancer, and the partnership with Prescient Medicine is a critical step toward fulfilling that mission.”
said Thomas J. Kuehn, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Metabiomics.