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Oxford BioDynamics
("OBD" or the "Company"
and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")
Oxford BioDynamics partners with Regina Maria to
offer EpiSwitch clinical tests in Romania
· Regina Maria is Romania's largest private
healthcare provider, serving 5 million patients
· OBD's EpiSwitch PSE and CiRT tests will be
available to physicians and patients in Romania as part of Regina
Maria's oncology portfolio
Oxford, UK - 12 February 2024
- Oxford BioDynamics Plc
(AIM: OBD, the "Company"), a precision clinical diagnostics company
bringing specific and sensitive tests to the practice of medicine
based on its EpiSwitch® 3D genomics platform, and Regina Maria Private Health
Network, the leading medical services provider in Romania, have signed a distribution agreement
to give patients in Romania access to OBD's clinical EpiSwitch PSE
(EpiSwitch Prostate Screening) and EpiSwitch CiRT (Checkpoint
inhibitor Response Test) blood tests.
Regina
Maria is the largest private healthcare provider in Romania,
serving 5 million patients with an array of medical services. It
operates 8 hospitals (3 JCI-accredited), 60 own polyclinics with
over 400 partner clinics, 36 medical laboratories and over 100
blood collection points, 30 imaging centres and over 720,000
patients covered health insurance subscriptions.
Under this new agreement, Regina Maria has the
right to market and offer OBD's EpiSwitch PSE and CiRT clinical
tests throughout Romania, leveraging their established medical and
insurance networks. Patients' blood samples will be shipped for
analysis to OBD's UKAS-accredited ISO-15189 clinical testing
laboratory in Oxford.
Corina Olareanu, Laboratory Director at Regina
Maria,
said: "We know
that early and accurate diagnosis and informed therapy selection
can be the difference between successful treatment and disease
progression, which is why we are dedicated to equipping doctors
with the most advanced diagnostics available. By offering the
EpiSwitch PSE and CiRT blood tests in Romania, we are expanding our
portfolio of oncology tools that can provide powerful and
convenient diagnostic insights for our medical network. The
partnership with OBD shows our commitment to innovation and
strengthens our position as the leading provider of next-generation
health services in Romania."
Iain
Ross, Executive Chairman of OBD, said: "OBD welcomes Regina Maria as our partner, as we
continue to work diligently to broaden availability of our
diagnostic tests through partnerships. Through this collaboration,
we aim to ensure that patients in Romania-the first in the EU to adopt EpiSwitch
clinical tests into private healthcare-have convenient, widespread access to
EpiSwitch PSE as a highly accurate test for prostate cancer risk,
and EpiSwitch CiRT for those considering or on cancer
immunotherapy."
EpiSwitch
PSE is OBD's validated, rapid, highly accurate blood test for
prostate cancer (accuracy 94%, specificity 97%, sensitivity
86%)1, significantly boosting the accuracy of PSA alone.
With the PSE, more than 9 out of every 10 men who receive a
positive "high likelihood" PSE will go on to have a confirmatory
biopsy1. This level of performance can reduce the number
of men who do not have prostate cancer being referred for
unnecessary MRI scans and invasive biopsies2. These
clinical results are supported by an accumulation of real-world
evidence related to the clinical utility.
OBD's EpiSwitch CiRT is a smart blood test that
accurately identifies patients who may respond to a widely used
class of cancer therapies2-Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
(ICIs)-with a binary result (responder vs. non-responder) to
support treatment planning, making more informed treatment
decisions when no benefit or disease progression is observed, or
when adverse events occur. The test can also identify candidates
for ICI therapy where other options have been exhausted or other
tests are negative for use.
- Ends -
References
1: Pchejetski D., et
al. Cancers (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030821
2: Hunter, E., et al.
Cancers (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15102696
For more
information:
Oxford BioDynamics PLC
Paul Stockdale, CFO
Iain Ross, Executive Chairman
|
+44
(0)1865 518910
|
Shore Capital - Nominated Adviser and Joint
Broker
Advisory: Stephane Auton / Lucy Bowden
Broking: Fiona Conroy
OAK
Securities - Joint Broker
Jerry Keen / Henry Clarke / Damion
Carruel
|
+44
(0)20 7408 4090
+44
(0)203 973 3678
|
WG
Partners - Joint Broker
David Wilson / Claes Spång / Satheesh
Nadarajah / Erland Sternby
|
+44 (0)20 3705 9330
|
Vigo
Consulting Media / Analyst enquiries for
OBD
Rozi Morris
|
+44
(0)20 7390 0230
obd@vigoconsulting.com
|
|
|
Notes for
Editors
About Oxford BioDynamics
Plc
Oxford
BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) is an international biotechnology company,
advancing personalized healthcare by developing and commercializing
precision clinical diagnostic tests for life-changing
diseases.
Currently OBD has two commercially available products:
the EpiSwitch®
PSE (EpiSwitch Prostate Screening
test) and EpiSwitch®
CiRT (Checkpoint Inhibitor Response Test) blood
tests. PSE boosts the predictive accuracy of a PSA test from 55% to
94% when testing the presence or absence of prostate
cancer. CiRT is a highly accurate (85%) predictive
response test to immuno-oncology checkpoint inhibitor
treatments.
The tests
are based on OBD's proprietary 3D genomic biomarker platform,
EpiSwitch® which enables screening, evaluation, validation
and monitoring of biomarkers to diagnose patients or determine how
individuals might respond to a disease or treatment.
OBD's
clinical smart tests have the potential to be used across a broader
range of indications, and new tests are being developed in the
areas of oncology, neurology, inflammation, hepatology and animal
health.
The Group's
headquarters and UK laboratories are in Oxford, UK. Its US operations and clinical
laboratory are in Maryland, USA, along with a reference laboratory
in Penang, Malaysia.
OBD is
listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM (LSE: OBD). For more
information, please visit the Company's website, www.oxfordbiodynamics.com, X (@OxBioDynamics)
or LinkedIn.
About
Regina Maria
The REGINA
MARIA Healthcare Network is the leader in the quality of medical
services in Romania, being the only operator with three
internationally accredited hospitals.
At the same
time, REGINA MARIA has also been an innovator in the corporate
medical services segment, introducing the concept of corporate
subscriptions in Romania nearly 25 years ago. More recently, the
company has developed specialised medical packages for SMEs and
individuals, currently managing a portfolio of over 720,000
subscriptions.
In the last
10 years, REGINA MARIA has invested nearly 200 million euros in
developing the Romanian medical system, by modernising or opening
new facilities, purchasing high-performance equipment, and training
medical teams.
REGINA
MARIA has its own presence in more than half of the country's
counties and provides nationwide coverage through over 400 of its
own and partner clinics.
The REGINA
MARIA Healthcare Network brings together more than 7,500 employees
and collaborators, offering comprehensive hospitalisation and
surgical services, maternity, outpatient services, imaging,
laboratory testing, and stem cell storage to over 5 million
patients.