LabCorp Licenses Technology for Early Detection of Lung Cancer from Duke University
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Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings has announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Duke University Medical Center (Duke) to commercialize Duke's new blood-based assay for early detection of lung cancer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"There is an enormous unmet medical need related to the diagnosis of lung cancer in the earliest stages when it is most treatable," said Edward Patz, M.D., James and Alice Chen Professor of Radiology in Duke's radiology department. "Our goal is to develop a cutting-edge technology that when combined with other modalities such as CT imaging can better differentiate true cancers from benign nodules."
The Duke technology is based on a collection of serum proteins associated with the biology of lung cancer. A preliminary study describing this technology was published in the December 10, 2007 edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Duke and LabCorp expect to conduct additional clinical studies with the biomarker technology prior to its commercial introduction by LabCorp.
"New diagnostic tools are required for lung cancer and this technology has the potential to stratify patients that may need more aggressive follow-up treatment and monitoring," said Myla P. Lai-Goldman, M.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer and Medical Director of LabCorp.
"Consistent with our strategy to fulfill unmet medical testing needs, LabCorp continues to dedicate resources to identifying and commercializing tests and early-stage technology to offer new scientific options to health care providers that will lead to better patient care and outcomes"