Siemens Healthcare joins IMI venture
Siemens Healthcare has become the latest participant in a project consortium exploring the potential of blood-based biomarkers to revolutionise the detection and treatment of cancer.
The IMI CANCER-ID project currently includes 33 partners from 13 countries, including academics, SMEs and pharmaceutical players.
Welcoming the move Trevor Hawkins, senior vice-president at Siemens clinical laboratory, said: “By participating in and contributing to this consortium, we believe we can more quickly expand our knowledge of biology of biomarkers, like CTCs.
“This will accelerate the development of innovative technologies and assays for clinical applications to detect cancer, identify the best treatment options for patients with these life threatening diseases and determine the effectiveness of their care.”
The players are hoping to develop standard protocols for the clinical validation of blood-based biomarkers. Such biomarkers, including circulating tumour cells (CTCs), are potential indicators for the tumour burden of patients living with cancer, especially for patients for whom biopsies of the tumour are not available.
It’s anticipated that blood-based tests that could detect and track CTCs would offer the convenience of a simple blood test that allows doctors to reliably monitor a patient’s condition. The information provided by these simple tests could also improve the range and effectiveness of treatment options from which physicians and their patients could choose.
