Oncimmune Holdings plc (LON:ONC), a leading early cancer detection company developing and commercialising its proprietary EarlyCDT® platform technology, today announced that it has validated and launched a finger stick collection capability for its EarlyCDT®-Lung test. The company believes this will increase utilisation of the test in the US and other territories as it expands its distribution in Europe and Asia.
Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley, CEO of Oncimmune Holdings plc, commented: “The benefit of early cancer detection is recognised by both physicians and patients but ease of use of the test along with cost and test performance, are also factors. The EarlyCDT-Lung test has the advantage of being a simple blood test, and can detect lung cancer up to four years earlier than other methods. It is also highly cost effective. By introducing finger stick blood collection we have created an option that will increase the speed and simplicity with which the EarlyCDT®-Lung test can be ordered and completed, with no loss of performance. We hope that this will make the test more accessible, especially in the US, so that more physicians and their patients will benefit from its ability to detect lung cancer early.”
Sample collection for EarlyCDT-Lung is simple but previously required a venous blood draw which for some physician practices in the US requires the patient to visit a medical center or blood draw center, and requires a trained phlebotomist to draw a venous sample. This adds costs, time and is sometimes inconvenient for patients. Using finger stick collection now gives physicians and patients the option to collect samples easily in the physician’s office or even in the patient’s home, thus making the entire process much simpler and quicker. Validation studies showed excellent results correlation between venous and finger stick sampling methods with no loss of signal or efficacy. Patients will still have the option of having a standard venous collection through a phlebotomist if this is their preference.
As with many other tests the finger stick simply requires the patient to pierce the skin of the finger using the contact activated lancet that is supplied and then collect sufficient blood drops into a small collection tube that is returned to Oncimmune in a bag supplied. Once submitted to Oncimmune’s CLIA-certified laboratory in Kansas, the result is reported to the physician in two to five days.
