The ASX biotechs aiming to catch cancer early

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide but several ASX biotechs are focused on early detection and treatment to improve prognosis.

Several ASX companies are advancing efforts in early cancer detection and treatment. Pic Getty Images

• Early detection and treatment can improve prognosis for cancer patients

• Several ASX biotechs looking to improve early cancer diagnostics and medical treatment

• Optiscan's technology brings surgeons and pathologists together to facilitate earlier cancer detection and treatment

Several ASX companies understand the importance of early detection and treatment of cancer and are working to improve diagnostics and medical care.

Among the leading causes of death worldwide, there were almost 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer-related deaths globally in 2022.

The number of new cancer cases per year is expected to rise to 29.9m by 2040, with cancer-related deaths increasing to 15.3m as the world's population grows and ages.

According to the World Health Organization the most common cancers are breast, lung, colon, rectum and prostate cancers.

But in some good news, the WHO believes the cancer burden could be reduced through early detection.

"Many cancers have a high chance of cure if diagnosed early and treated appropriately," the WHO said.

Optiscan targeting faster diagnosis

Melbourne-headquartered Optiscan (ASX:OIL) is a global pioneer in confocal endomicroscopic imaging technology, which is essentially digitising traditional analogue pathology processes.

At the heart of Optiscan’s innovation is its proprietary, miniaturised digital microscope.

The pen-sized device produces high-resolution digital pathology images in real-time, enabling cancer diagnosis and surgical margin detection directly on tissue it contacts, without the need for a physical biopsy.

Optiscan’s technology – originally spun out of Monash University – brings surgeons and pathologists together to facilitate earlier cancer detection and treatment, potentially enhancing patient outcomes significantly.

The company has inked several deals to advance its technology for use both in humans and animals and recently announced a collaborative research partnership with the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

As part of the five-year agreement,  the University of Minnesota’s extensive research facilities will be leveraged to explore clinical applications of OIL’s technology in veterinary medicine with an initial focus on cancer research in companion animals.

Last year, Optiscan signed a collaborative know-how agreement with the Mayo Clinic in the US to co-develop an endomicroscopic imaging device for minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery.

The company is also working with Monash University to develop a scope-agnostic gastrointestinal flexible endomicroscope, which will use cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to automate the detection and analysis of cancerous and precancerous lesions.

Optiscan said clinical studies for the first surgical indication in breast cancer surgery are expected to commence in Melbourne and the US over the coming months, to collect suitable data for a US Food and Drug Administration regulatory submission.

"We are proud of Optiscan’s innovative technology and continue to transform the surgical oncology and digital pathology landscapes for the benefit of patients globally," Optiscan CEO and managing director Dr Camile Farah said.

Improving MRIs

Through its MagSense platform, Imagion Biosystems (ASX:IBX) aims to revolutionise cancer diagnosis by introducing molecular imaging to magnetic resonance imaging, better known as MRI.

The company is pursuing initial indication in HER2+ breast cancer staging, with pipeline candidates for prostate and ovarian cancers.

Chief business officer Ward Detwiler said Imagion was looking to achieve several key milestones in 2025, including prioritising phase II clinical study of MagSense in its first indication of HER2+ breast cancer and advancing two additional pipeline products in prostate and ovarian cancers.

Detwiler said MagSense improved on current techniques for cancer diagnosis such as X-rays, MRI, computed tomography (CT), ultrasounds and positron emission tomography (PET) by providing a more specific and personalised approach.

The MagSense imaging platform involves the use of iron oxide nanoparticles labelled with cancer-specific targeting antibodies, which can then be imaged with the widely available MRI.

Imagion’s lead imaging agent is targeting diagnosis of metastatic HER2+ breast cancer, a form of cancer known to be highly aggressive.

"This study not only advances us one step closer to bringing MagSense to a large patient population in need, but also acts as a proof of concept which allows us to address a range of other cancers," Detwiler said.

INOVIQ's innovative solutions

Melbourne-headquartered INOVIQ (ASX:IIQ) is developing and commercialising a portfolio of diagnostic and exosome-based solutions for earlier detection and treatment of cancer, with an initial focus on breast and ovarian cancers.

Exosomes are tiny extracellular vesicles released by all cells in the body, that contain important information about the health status of cells.

The company said it had commercialised its fast, efficient and scalable EXO-NET exosome isolation technology for biomarker discovery and diagnostics development.

The platform compares exosomal biomarkers from cancer cells with normal ones to develop more accurate diagnostics.

In December INOVIQ announced that its blood test for early detection of ovarian cancer screening EXO-OC had finished an independent validation of its biomarkers and diagnostic performance with accuracy of more than 94%.

The company has also successfully completed clinical validation of its blood-based breast cancer monitoring test neuCA15-3.

INOVIQ has developed a proprietary technology for large-scale isolation of exosomes for therapeutic applications. It has successfully completed proof-of-concept for its development program for an exosome therapeutic for breast cancer.

"INOVIQ is focused on developing next-generation exosome diagnostics and therapeutics for earlier detection and treatment of cancer to improve patient outcomes," CEO Leearne Hinch told Stockhead.

Detecting ovarian cancer with blood test

Cleo Diagnostics (ASX:COV) is working to reduce the mortality rate of ovarian cancer via a simple blood test for the accurate and early detection of one of the most deadly cancers affecting women.

Cleo's cancer diagnostics technology platform is underpinned by a patented novel biomarker CXCL10, which the company said was produced early and at high levels by ovarian cancers but not in non-malignant disease.

The platform is backed by more than 10 years of scientific R&D at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne with funding supported by the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, with two clinical studies conducted with over 500 patients.

Pursuant to a licence agreement with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Cleo has a worldwide exclusive licence to commercialise the intellectual property which underpins its operations and ovarian cancer tests.

Given there is currently no adequate diagnostics for ovarian cancer, Cleo said there was a significant opportunity for the company to capitalise on a large global total addressable market which it intends to access with a staged approach.

Cleo’s primary focus is a 500 patient US trial, which will underpin a US FDA 510(k) submission for CY25, and ultimately entry into its first patient market.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Imagion Biosystems and Optiscan are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as The ASX biotechs aiming to catch cancer early