GeneproDX has developed a product, called ThyroidPrint, that dramatically increases the accuracy of tests for thyroid cancer. Earlier this year, Fondo Alerce, a private Chilean biotech fund made a US$1.4M investment in the startup, part of a larger US$13M round.
Fondo Alerce has invested in GeneproDX once again this year as the company plans to launch their product on the market in May. Other investors included several smaller backers, including doctors, and a US$300K investment from CORFO. This investment is meant to help scale ThyroidPrint and prepare for its launch on the Chilean and Latin American markets.
The test helps determine whether or not thyroid lumps are benign prior to surgery. Currently, about 20% of biopsies are indeterminate, meaning that patients must undergo surgery due to the high risk of thyroid cancer. Only about 25% of those cases turn out to be cancer, meaning 75% undergo unnecessary surgical procedures.
ThyroidPrint is designed to lower that inefficiency. It is currently in clinical tests in six hospitals in the United States, including Stanford. GeneproDX is also looking to develop their test into a kit or product that can be exported to the US to lower costs, since samples currently must be sent to Chile to be tested. ThyroidPrint will debut on the Chilean market in May 2018.
Read the original article in El Mercurio here.