Is This a Breakthrough Moment in Cancer Detection? Tzar Labs Finds Blood-Based Test to Detect Cancer
  • 3 years ago
In what could be a potentially massive breakthrough, Singaporean molecular diagnostic company Tzar Labs, in collaboration with India-based Epigeneres Biotechnology, has developed a new blood-based test that can be used for early cancer prognosis and diagnosis. The discovery lies within a more contentious segment of cellular biology. But if validated by additional trials, this could hold vast market potential - The number of cancer cases in India is estimated to be 13.9 lakh this year and may increase to 15.7 lakh by 2025, with its prevalence being marginally higher among women, according to the ICMR and the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research.

Mitali Mukherjee spoke with Ashish Tripathi, Chief Executive Officer at Tzar Labs Pte Ltd who said this novel marker could identify the risk of cancer, help with early and late stage detection and even identify the area in which a cancer may be present.

Mr Tripathi said the aim was to help in early stage detection of cancer in the human body, that could help save lives with the help of prompt treatment. He was also confident of the method’s efficacy ( 99.9% according to their published paper) vs the existing methodology of circulating cell-free tumour DNA methodology that some US companies are already functioning in.

The company plans to bring the test kits to the market in India by September-October this year. It is working on securing regulatory approvals and also setting up a network of labs and indicated they would try and price the kit at an extremely “economical” .

Epigeneres has filed for patents in the US, Japan, Europe, Singapore, South Korea, China and India. It

is also in talks with investors to raise $200 million to fund large clinical trials, with 10,000-20,000 subjects, in Western markets. The HrC test is named after Mr Tripathi’s son-in-law and former senior Mumbai police officer Himanshu Roy, who died by suicide in 2018 while ailing with cancer.

Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support

The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
You can also follow The Wire’s social media platforms and engage with us.
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheWire/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireHindi/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireUrdu/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireMarathi/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/thewire_in
https://twitter.com/thewirehindi
https://twitter.com/TheWireUrdu
https://twitter.com/TheWireMarathi
https://twitter.com/livewire
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thewirein/
https://www.instagram.com/livewirein/
Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to never miss a video from The Wire!