OncoStem ties up with Sapien for breast cancer recurrence diagnostic test

Sapien Biosciences, a biotech venture backed by Apollo Hospitals, has entered into a collaboration with a Bengaluru-based diagnostic start-up, OncoStem Diagnostics, for the development and validation of a novel breast cancer recurrence prediction test.

OncoStem is stated to have developed a panel of ‘prognostic and predictive’ proteomic markers that is indicative of the aggressiveness of the cancer and hence enables prediction of the risk of recurrence within the first five years of initial diagnosis. These markers are now being validated using retrospective tumor samples diagnosed with breast cancer.

OncoStem is collaborating with Sapien to validate this test using such annotated tumor samples with associated treatment and outcomes. Once the test is validated, OncoStem and Sapien will pilot and commercialise this test.

The diagnostic test is planned to be launched first within the Apollo network in India, followed by a worldwide launch in a phased manner starting late 2015 or early 2016. Breast cancer recurrence diagnostic space is stated to be currently valued at $3 billion globally and is expected to grow at 18 per cent annually.

Sapien’s agreement with OncoStem includes a preferential launch of the OncoStem test across the Apollo Hospitals network through Sapien. Beside breast cancer, the Sapien-OncoStem collaboration also anticipates development of several such cutting-edge recurrence diagnostic tests across other cancer types.