Sudbury company attracts $8M investment to support its leading-edge cancer treatment technology
A Sudbury-based company has received $8 million in private investment to support its work in cancer diagnostic technology.
Rna Diagnostics grew out of work done at Laurentian University and Health Sciences North Research Institute (HSNRI). Dr. Amadeo Parissenti, a scientist and LU professor, has developed technology that allows doctors to tell whether chemotherapy is having an impact on a patient's cancer.
"The RNA disruption assay (RDA), patented by Laurentian University and licensed to Rna Diagnostics in 2010, determines whether a patient is responding to cancer therapy, early during treatment," the company said in a news release Wednesday.
Using RDA, doctors can determine within five weeks of the start of treatment whether chemotherapy is working, allowing doctors to tailor the treatment according to the individual patient's response.
"This means that if a patient’s tumour is not responding to treatment, 80 per cent of ineffective doses and lost time can be avoided," the company said.
Rna Diagnostics has received $8 million in what's known as 'series A' financing from iGan Partners and BDC Capital. Series A financing is private funding that startup companies receive when their product or service shows enough promise to attract investment.
The discovery of RDA was made in 2007 by Parissenti and his research associate, Dr. Baoqing Guo, in their lab at HSNRI. It was patented by Laurentian University in 2010.
Rna Diagnostics’ laboratory is headquartered at HSNRI in Sudbury.
“The continued support of iGan Partners and our current investors, combined with the support of BDC Capital as a new investment partner, is exciting,” John Connolly, president and CEO of Rna Diagnostics, said in the news release.
“The closing of this series A financing will allow us to complete the pivotal validation trial (BREVITY) of the RNA Disruption Assay. BREVITY is currently recruiting patients at over 40 breast cancer centres in Europe and North America.”
Parissenti continues to study the cellular mechanisms involved in RNA disruption with Dr. Carita Lanner and Dr. Tom Kovala of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in the hopes of finding additional tools to predict or monitor chemotherapy response and outcome in cancer patients.
“Laurentian University is proud to offer its congratulations to Dr. Parissenti and Rna Diagnostics Inc. on this incredible milestone, the investment will provide critical funding to complete the clinical trials and bring to market a technology that will improve cancer treatments worldwide while impacting positively on the quality of life of cancer patients,” Tammy Eger, Laurentian University’s vice-president, research, said in the release.
“A true northern innovation created by outstanding partnerships and collaboration.”
“This is an enormous, expensive problem for cancer centres. Typically, in solid tumors, only 30-40 per cent of patients receive a survival benefit from a given drug regimen,” Connolly added. “Patients with nonresponsive tumours (identified by the RDA) can therefore forgo the ineffective treatment and its side-effects and moved quickly to alternate treatments.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated J&J cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.