Specialty cancer diagnostics company Precipio Inc, New Haven, Conn, has entered into an agreement with biotechnology products distributor Euroclone Diagnostica Srl, Milan, Italy, to sell Precipio’s Ice Cold PCR (ICP) DNA enrichment products for use with liquid biopsies.
Euroclone represents industrial and research products for cell biology, contamination control, and cytogenetics from global scientific brands, a number of which are used in conjunction with Precipio’s products to achieve enhanced accuracy and turnaround, including BioFire’s tools for high resolution melt analysis, New England Biolabs’ reagents and enzymes for next-generation sequencing, and Roche’s process for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
The agreement provides for Euroclone’s exclusive representation and distribution of Precipio’s ICP products in Italy, and nonexclusive representation for the rest of Europe. Orders have been placed for Q2 delivery to several labs seeking to incorporate the platform and become the first in Europe to offer the uniquely value-based ICP tests.
Europe sees 920,000 new cases of lung and colorectal cancer every year. Euroclone anticipates the market potential of ICP within its existing customer base in Italy to exceed $1 million annually, and for its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) global segment to exceed $10 million in 3 to 5 years. With an increasing need to monitor new patients for treatment effectiveness, and cancer survivors for recurrence, the partners expect the European market for liquid biopsies to grow for numerous cancer types.
ICP technology preferentially enriches mutant DNA sequences over wild-type DNA through selective amplification of the mutant DNA. The result is up to a 500-fold increase in sensitivity in identifying mutations, with the most precise sequence alteration detection rates available—down to 0.1% of tumor DNA within the bloodstream. The technology enables a simple blood draw alternative to tissue biopsies for somatic mutation testing, and a more accurate diagnosis and continual monitoring of patients undergoing cancer therapy.
“Our collaboration with Precipio Inc is an important and strategic path for Euroclone Diagnostica,” says Franco Aiolfi, CEO of Euroclone. “It brings us great satisfaction to work together to expand our offering of diagnostic tests and address the emerging potential for ICP DNA enrichment for use with liquid biopsies.”
Stephen Miller, Precipio.
“Our collective analysis indicates significant potential demand for the improved monitoring and cancer care ICP provides,” adds Stephen Miller, chief commercial officer at Precipio. “The plan is for Italy to serve as a staging area for rapid expansion into such other EMEA markets as the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Scandinavia.”
To learn more, visit Precipio.
