Every year, $100 billion goes into standard cancer treatment, prescribed based on the cancer’s stage and tissue of origin. Patients receiving these treatments assume that they are being given the medicine they need, but the reality is inauspicious — every cancer is unique, and only 1 out of 4 standard treatments will actually prolong life.
Getting patients to the most effective treatment first is the goal of Genomic Expression, an innovative biotech company whose RNA diagnostics produce more effective, individualized treatment plans with one comprehensive test.
The company was founded by siblings Gitte Pedersen (CEO) and Morten Pedersen (CTO). Their technology, OneRNA™, extracts RNA from cancer cells in a manner that makes it easy to sequence. It is then sequenced and analyzed, and the resultin
g genetic expression profile provides doctors with the information they need to deliver the most effective, least toxic treatment.
“What motivated my brother and I was frustration with the paradigm in medicine,” Gitte explains. “Doctors treat before they test, so patients go through treatments with very limited benefits.”
That motivation has taken them a long way, from a good idea, to an actual, revenue-producing company. OneRNA™ was validated for use in clinical trials over a year ago, but Genomic Expression will begin offering the test to doctors and patients more broadly at the end of 2018. The diagnostic platform is able to identify the best treatments for all cancer patients, however, in order to get OneRNA™ into standard of care the company have started 4 fully funded clinical studies for breast, ovarian, colon, and bladder cancer. Genomic Expression has received a number of awards and recognitions for their work, including a $4.2 million grant in bladder cancer, and has raised $8 million to date, providing the funding for their clinical trials.
Recognition of their achievements continued this past March, when Genomic Expression received the Lyfebulb-Hellsinn award from Dr. Stephan Squinto, a partner at OrbiMed, one of the largest life science-focused VCs. Out of a group of 11 finalist entrepreneurs at the Lyfebulb-Helsinn Investment Fund Innovation Summit in Monaco, their technology was judged to have the most potential to better manage cancer.
Working to change the healthcare paradigm to testing before treating, Genomic Expression will continue to expand the market and possibilities for OneRNA™, making cancer treatment more effective, efficient, and affordable for patients.
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