On March 23, 2021 CellMax Life, a molecular diagnostics company with proprietary technology for pre-cancer and cancer detection blood tests, and Sebela Pharmaceuticals, a market leader in gastroenterology, reported the closing of a strategic development and commercial collaboration agreement, as well as CellMax’s Series C financing (Press release, CellMax Life, MAR 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234577108]). Participation in the financing also includes a strategic investment from new investor, Aflac Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), and existing investor, ArtimanVentures.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"Strategic financing from market leaders, Sebela and Aflac Ventures, is a testament to CellMax’s technology and vision," said Atul Sharan, chief executive officer, CellMax Life. "Sebela has a leading market position in the gastroenterology field in the United States. The financing will bring to life our vision of detecting colon cancer before it occurs through a globally marketed blood test that can detect pre-cancerous polyps."

The Series C financing will be used to accelerate the clinical development of CellMax’s multimodal liquid biopsy test, FirstSight, for the detection of colorectal cancer and pre-cancerous polyps, also known as advanced adenomas. CellMax recently initiated a multicenter U.S. study to further optimize its proprietary algorithm and cell capture techniques. CellMax and Sebela will collaborate on completing the development of FirstSight and, following approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Sebela will commercialize the test in the United States.

"For the last several years, we have closely followed the industry’s development of colorectal cancer liquid biopsies," said Alan Cooke, chief executive officer, Sebela Pharmaceuticals. "Sebela and our subsidiary, Braintree, have worked with gastroenterologists for over 35 years, and we expect FirstSight to play a central role in the future of colorectal cancer screening. FirstSight may not only enable the U.S. to exceed its 80% screening rate target, as set by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, but can also help detect pre-cancerous adenomas early, referring patients to colonoscopy for preemptive removal."

This partnership complements Sebela’s portfolio of market-leading gastroenterology and colonoscopy preparation products, which are utilized to facilitate colonoscopies, the "gold standard" for the prevention and detection of colorectal cancer. Colonoscopies remain the only means of removing detected pre-cancerous lesions to prevent colorectal cancer.

At the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium, Dr. Shai Friedland, professor of medicine at Stanford University Medical Center and chief of gastroenterology at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, presented results from a prospective study performed on 458 subjects utilizing FirstSight, a multimodal assay comprised of circulating dysplastic epithelial cells and circulating tumor DNA mutation markers, in combination with a proprietary algorithm.

"A test that detects only colorectal cancer, and not adenomas, will result in missed opportunities to prevent cancer and subject patients to invasive cancer treatments," said Dr. Friedland. "Today, there is not a single non-invasive screening test that can accurately detect pre-cancerous polyps even nearly as effective as a colonoscopy. Our study data with the FirstSight blood test continues to show consistent ability to detect advanced adenomas with high sensitivity, enabling removal before they progress to carcinomas."

In clinical studies performed in the U.S. and Taiwan, FirstSight has demonstrated strong performance in detecting both advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer. FirstSight has also shown the ability to detect recurrent neoplasia following polypectomy. i-v

Colorectal cancer represents the second deadliest cancer in the U.S., despite being one of the most preventable.vi Additionally, screening adherence rates have fallen short of the 80% target, as only 68.8% of adults aged 50 to 75 years, and only 63.3% of adults aged 50 to 64 years, were up to date with colorectal cancer screening as of 2018.vii