EDX Medical Group Plc (AQSE:EDX) Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Professor Sir Chris Evans caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss their new highly accurate testicular cancer test, how patients will access it, when it will be launched, how prevalent testicular cancer is, and what else investors can expect over the coming months.
Q1: Chris, EDX Medical has announced the launch of a highly accurate testicular cancer test. Could you just tell us more about it and what makes it different?
A1: The testicular test is incredibly accurate; it’s the most accurate testicular test that’s ever been created and it’ll be available in a matter of weeks out there.
It’s highly sensitive, which is the main degree of accuracy that we’re looking for here, such that it’ll pick up very early-stage testicular cancer when it’s at a very, very early stage at over 90% sensitivity. It’ll pick up later stages, stage three and four, at a sensitivity level of 99% and most importantly, those young men who do go, unfortunately, on to have cancer, this test is used and can be used to monitor them. When we had run the clinical validation studies with thousands of young men with testicular cancer and without cancer, the sensitivity level results are 100% at monitoring the presence of any recurrence of cancer or any leftover cancer after the treatment these young men have received.
So, for all of those reasons, this test I think is possibly the ultimate test for using on testicular cancer for young men who have symptoms, who have worries, who have concerns.
A single blood sample is taken and sent off to our laboratory. The analysis is done, all of the various biomarkers in the test are examined, the data is processed through a unique algorithm that’s part of the test and then the data is transmitted straight to the GP. So, he will know immediately there is cancer present or there is no cancer present. He can then decide what he does next after that.
It is for all of those reasons a brilliant test. I’m delighted with the design and the development and the finality of it is this superior accuracy over anything that exists out there.
Q2: How will patients be able to get access to this test then?
A2: When it’s launched, it’ll be put online to start with so it’s available to anybody. Testicular hits men between the age 15 and 45, older men do get it as well but it’s more uncommon once you reach your 50s, 60s, 70s, very uncommon.
Whether you are private and wealthy or whether you’re not wealthy and you’re on the NHS, it’s up to the GPs whether they choose to order the test and bring it in and stock one or two kits of it. Different NHS trusts may or may not decide to buy it. As part of EDX Medical, we’ve canvassed the numerous NHS GPs and private GPs and the ones we’ve canvassed have said it sounds like a no brainer that anyone showing these sorts of symptoms or concerns with or without a physical examination, they would purchase the test and deploy it to get the information immediately that it’s cancer or not cancer.
It’s a great peace of mind result to be able to get, pretty unambiguous. All the private GPs that we canvassed, over 100 of them, every single one said they will stock it and there’s no question they would deploy it straight away.
So, it’ll be available to everybody to obtain.
Q3: How and when will it be launched in the UK?
A3: It’s sometime in the next 5/6 weeks. It’s finished, it’s designed, it’s got approval, it’s regulated, it’s all done. Just a few more logistics on the setting up and putting it on the online platform, ready for distribution, etc., so, not too long.
Q4: What’s the demographic and how prevalent is testicular cancer?
A4: Testicular cancer, it’s not the massive cancer like bowel cancer, or breast cancer etc. About 2,500 young men will get testicular cancer in the UK every year, obviously a hell of a lot more in Europe and the US. There’s about 50,000 young men with testicular cancer today in the UK, obviously being treated. The really good news is that if caught early and handled well, the treatments, be it surgery, radiology, chemotherapy, are very good, very effective. Almost 98% of all these young men, boys will recover.
So, catching it early, treating it quickly means potentially very little or no chemotherapy, which means you don’t run the risk of infertility and all of the side effects that obviously toxic chemotherapy. That’s the real point of the test is to be able to get the result very quickly and pinpoint those early stages where maybe, you know, the symptoms are very, very small.
It’s confusing as well where young men can get aches and pains and throbbing and small lumps, etc, and you think it’s part of rugby or cycling or rock climbing, falling off rocks or whatever versus it’s cancer. It’s also a bit of a stigma with testicular cancer in the sense that it’s your private parts and go in to see the GP and examinations, almost similar to a lot of grown men, men who should be a lot wiser and smarter, who don’t really want to for prostate cancer, they don’t want their prostate examined. So, they pretend it’s not happening, you push the symptoms to the back of your mind and hope it’ll go away and young boys, men do that with testicular as well.
So, what we’re trying to do is have a test available to say, any concerns, any worries whatsoever, you can obtain this test, and it can be carried out. It’s a simple blood draw by a nurse; you can go into the high street and get these things done now or go to your GP and the GP can get it and get on with it and get the result quickly.
Q5: What else can investors expect from EDX Medical Group over the coming months?
A5: Well, quite a lot more, I think.
We obviously recently announced the development of our prostate cancer test, which I just think is absolutely fabulous. It’s a very complex test, which obviously has got over 100 biomarkers or been examined, etc. in it, we’ve talked about that, and that’s going to be out next year.
This test testicular one has four biomarkers in it. Three of the markers, by the way, are already in the NHS testicular pathway, very well known, very acceptable but the fourth biomarker in the testicular test is a unique microRNA clinically validated marker, very tightly associated with testicular cancer. So, that’s a brilliant new combination.
Coming down the track, we are working in a number of areas, which I don’t want to go into any detail on, and we have one more fabulous test, I hope to announce by the summer. It’s come on really well and it for me, is another big game changer in a big cancer. It’s come on really well and for me, it is another big gamechanger in a big cancer so very excited about that.
That’s what we set the Group up to do is not to do ‘me too’ stuff, but to look at areas where there are tests and develop tests that are substantially better than anything that’s already out there. More accurate, more sensitive, more specific, easier to use and it’s based on very, very good science, that’s the key here, everything else take care of itself later, and make these things accessible to all.
That’s our mantra and we will continue to do that in a number of areas. We have things in sepsis and one or two other areas of infectious disease as well, which again are highly accurate. Some of tests will be simple home use, they will be point of care, a bit like sophisticated lateral flows, and other tests are so sophisticated, the blood or the urine must be drawn and sent to our laboratory, and then you get the perfect result.
