Morvus
Development of a prototype point of care test for detection of urogenital cancers.
Morvus Technology Ltd. and ASTUTE worked together to develop new technology which will enable non-invasive, in vitro testing for urogenital cancers such as bladder cancer.
Morvus Technology Ltd. is a pharmaceutical company formed in April 2004 to exploit its founders’ proven expertise in the areas of drug and target-discovery and the commercialisation of novel technology. Its primary focus is oncology.
Currently, greater than 300,000 patients in the UK are admitted for diagnostic invasive cystoscopy for bladder cancer annually. The cost per procedure to the NHS is £263, giving an approximate annual cost to the NHS of £80 million for this testing. Cystoscopy is uncomfortable for patients and they currently have to travel to hospital to have the procedure carried out.
Morvus Technology Ltd. worked with Professor Ian Weeks and his research team at Cardiff University School of Medicine via the ASTUTE project to develop new technology which will enable non-invasive, in vitro testing for urogenital cancers such as bladder cancer. A positive test emits light and is easily distinguishable from a negative sample.
The new test only requires a urine sample from the patient, and so if it could be configured as a Point of Care (POC) test, it could be carried out in either a hospital laboratory or GP clinic. Such a test would significantly reduce the annual costs of bladder cancer testing to the NHS and be non-invasive for patients.
Outcomes
As a result of this collaboration, the project team were able to:
- Produce a format of the urogenital cancer test that would be suitable for POC. This has resulted in the development of a prototype new POC product for the detection of bladder cancer.
- Produce a User Requirements Specification for an electronic instrument to measure the results of the test. The electronic instrument needed to be suitable for POC use.
- Design, construct and test a proof of concept electronic instrument to measure the results of urogenital cancer POC tests.
POC clinical diagnostic tests have the potential to reduce NHS costs and be locally available for patients. They also provide the general practitioner with real time test results which has the potential to improve the monitoring and treatment of chronic conditions.
The prototype POC test is currently being further developed with a view to testing with clinical samples.
ASTUTE has enabled us to move the concept of using a cancer cell selective enzyme, to generate a fluorescent product, from the laboratory into a prototype product for the point of care detection of bladder cancer. This has proven to be an excellent and productive collaboration that certainly accelerated product development.
For further information or to discuss collaborative opportunities through ASTUTE, please contact Andrew Hopkins, the ASTUTE-Cardiff Technical Delivery Manager.
Morvus Technology Ltd is a pharmaceutical company specialising in the discovery and commercialisation of novel drugs for the oncology market.