Launch of "Finger Stick" Sample Collection for EarlyCDT®-Lung

DESOTO, Kan., Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncimmune USA LLC, the U.S. subsidiary of Oncimmune Holdings plc (AIM: ONC.L), a leading early cancer detection company developing and commercializing its proprietary EarlyCDT® platform technology, today announces its launch of a validated finger stick collection capability for its EarlyCDT®-Lung test. The EarlyCDT®-Lung test is a simple blood test that aids pulmonologists and other physicians in risk assessment and can detect lung cancer up to four years earlier than other methods.  It is also highly cost-effective.

"By introducing finger stick blood collection, we have created an option that will increase the speed and simplicity with which the EarlyCDT®-Lung test can be ordered and completed with no loss of performance. We are confident that this will make the test more accessible, especially in the US, so that more physicians and their patients will benefit from its ability to detect lung cancer early," said Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley, CEO, Oncimmune. 

Sample collection for EarlyCDT–Lung is simple but previously required a venous blood draw which for some physician practices in the US requires the patient to visit a medical center or blood draw center where a trained phlebotomist can draw a venous sample. This adds costs, time and is sometimes inconvenient for patients. Finger stick collection now gives physicians and patients the option to collect samples easily in the physician's office or even in the patient's home, thus making the entire process much simpler and quicker. Validation studies showed excellent results correlation between venous and finger stick sampling methods with no loss of signal or efficacy. Patients will still have the option of having a standard venous collection through a phlebotomist if this is their preference. 

How the EarlyCDT®-Lung Finger Stick Collection Process Works
The EarlyCDT®-Lung test finger stick sample collection procedure simply requires the patient to pierce the skin of the finger using the contact activated lancet that is supplied and then collect sufficient blood drops into a small collection tube that is returned to Oncimmune's CLIA-certified laboratory in Kansas in a bag supplied. Once submitted, the result is reported to the physician in two to five days.  The EarlyCDT®-Lung test may be billed to Medicare and most commercial insurance.

About Oncimmune
Oncimmune is a leading early cancer detection company developing and commercializing its proprietary EarlyCDT® platform technology. Oncimmune has pioneered the development of autoantibody tests that can detect cancer up to four years earlier than other methods and can be applied to a very wide range of solid tumor types. The Company's first product, EarlyCDT®-Lung, was launched in 2012, as a CLIA test in the USA and since then over 150,000 commercial tests have been sold. EarlyCDT®-Lung is available through physicians in the US and privately in the UK and other regions. EarlyCDT®-Lung is being used in the largest ever randomized trial for the early detection of lung cancer using biomarkers, the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland ECLS study of 12,210 high-risk smokers. EarlyCDT® tests for liver and ovarian cancer are in development.

Oncimmune, headquartered in Nottingham, United Kingdom with testing facilities in the US, joined AIM in May 2016 under the ticker ONC.L. For more information, visit www.oncimmune.com

SOURCE Oncimmune

Related Links

http://www.oncimmune.com