Oct 24 2011
Metabolomx, a diagnostic company focused on breath analysis for the detection of cancer, today announced the Company was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The $1.14 million combined Phase I/II Fast-Track contract will support the research and development of Metabolomx' sensor array system to detect lung cancer.
Metabolomx' proprietary technology is designed to recognize the molecular fingerprint of lung cancer via a sampling of metabolites (volatile organic compounds) in exhaled breath. The Company's system currently is being evaluated in a large lung cancer screening study at the Cleveland Clinic.
Paul Rhodes, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Metabolomx, commented, "The core insight of Metabolomx is that the pattern of small-molecule metabolites produced by active tumors can be observed in exhaled breath. Because our system is rapid, non-invasive and inexpensive, we believe it can be both a timely adjunct diagnostic following an indeterminate CT scan and, in the future, can help facilitate earlier diagnosis of disease. This is particularly critical in lung cancer, since many patients are first diagnosed only late in their disease."
Dr. Rhodes continued, "We are grateful for the support of the NCI grant, which will help us to further validate our technology and advance the breakthrough studies of our breath analysis system for lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and other cancers."
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