Research Institute Creates First Spinoff Company EValuate Diagnostics
What You Need To Know
- The HMH Research Institute and its Office of Innovation and Commercialization have taken the step of establishing the first spin-off company based on science developed within the network. The company aims to make tests detecting cancer and other diseases earlier than ever before.
EValuate Diagnostics will market a new system for the capture of extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, which have been elusive to medicine thus far. Novel diagnostic assays derived from this technology will help select and identify disease biomarkers for earlier-than-ever detection of tumors and a wide range of other diseases.
The company is based upon the work of Olivier Loudig, Ph. D., an associate member of the Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), who is directly involved with the development of EValuate Diagnostics. His laboratory at the CDI has developed research programs for biomarker discovery and early detection of breast, lung, and prostate cancers using liquid biopsies.
Developing cancer lesions, which may remain elusive due to their small size by traditional imaging approaches or tissue biopsies, still leave a molecular trace in biofluids such as blood. The laboratory of Dr. Loudig has homed in on this minute trail and, using highly sensitive next-generation sequencing technologies, has been able to detect RNA signatures indicative of the developing lesions. The development of gene expression assays for diagnostics is widely used for evaluating large tumors, but this novel tracking technology, applied to early detection has the potential to exponentially help save patient lives.
A core tenet of the mission of the CDI, founded in 2019, is translating cutting-edge science to rapidly impact patient health for New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive health network. EValuate Diagnostics is a direct product of this research ethos, driving the discoveries of the Loudig Laboratory to help patients in the very near future.
The Office of Innovation and Commercialization launched in 2022 and promises to support innovations and discoveries across HMH. One of its marquee programs so far is the Bear’s Den - an innovation incubator launched in 2017 that brings together a panel of experts, leading physicians, key network executives, venture capitalists, and patent attorneys, who gather regularly to vet proposals from entrepreneurs. The health network’s novel incubator has vetted many products and strategies to streamline care delivery, reduce infections, lower hospital readmissions, and help patients partner in their care with physicians. The program has also invested in promising innovative companies.