QURE Healthcare

The clinical utility studies planned with the two partners will evaluate the impact of the PDAC assay in enhancing patient outcomes, improving healthcare economics, and delivering benefits for clinicians Biological Dynamics has partnered with QURE and Curta to study the effects of early identification of the cancer in high-risk cohorts with its PDAC assay. (Credit: valelopardo from Pixabay) Biological Dynamics is partnering with QURE Healthcare and Curta to assess its assay in the early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in high-risk cohorts. The US-based exosome-isolation technology and early disease detection diagnostic firm said that the clinical utility studies with the two partners will evaluate the impact of its PDAC assay in enhancing patient outcomes, improving healthcare economics, and demonstrating benefits for clinicians. Biological Dynamics announced independent studies to better understand how providers will use its early PDAC detection assay. The test performance and cost related to subsequent patient care and curative interventions that payors evaluate for reimbursement decisions will also be analysed, the firm added. Biological Dynamics CEO and director Paul Billings said: “We believe our technology ventures well beyond the DNA-based sequencing tests available for PDAC to the serial imaging that has been the standard for detecting pancreatic cancer for decades. “We must more fully understand the risks and benefits of early detection methods in all individuals including those at high-risk for pancreatic cancer. “These two studies will add important observations as we evolve to better management of disease risk and sensitive diagnoses.” Curta is engaged in developing models to demonstrate how new medical technologies may affect actual care and results. Biological Dynamics said that the Curta study will examine the potential economic and health effects of early PDAC identification using its PDAC assay. Curta senior partner and CMO Scott Ramsey said: “A blood test is much easier to administer for patients compared to a battery of imaging technologies. It can make clinical flow easier by saving unnecessary tests when the PDAC assay is negative. “Our modelling will characterise the current standard of care for surveillance of patients with high risk for pancreatic cancer.” According to Biological Dynamics, QURE Healthcare measures physicians’ clinical practice patterns to understand how new technology may impact patient care. The Clinical Performance and Value (CPV) patient simulations used in the QURE study will be used in a randomised controlled trial to see whether adopting the PDAC assay would change physician behaviour, the company added.

The company partners with QURE and Curta to assess value of early identification in high-risk cohorts SAN DIEGO, Nov. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Biological Dynamics, an exosome-isolation technology and early disease detection diagnostic company, today announced that it has partnered with both QURE Healthcare and Curta to explore how the company's assay for early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) can improve patient outcomes, demonstrate the greatest value to clinicians, and enhance healthcare economics. Earlier PDAC detection has the potential to improve the survival and quality of life for high-risk patients. However, there is a need to understand physician adoption to enhance clinical decisions affecting treatment, patient outcomes, and the use of finite healthcare resources. Therefore, Biological Dynamics will help conduct independent studies on how providers will use its early PDAC detection assay and how the test performance and cost may impact downstream patient care and curative interventions that payors review for reimbursement coverage decisions. "We believe our technology ventures well beyond the DNA-based sequencing tests available for PDAC to the serial imaging that has been the standard for detecting pancreatic cancer for decades," said Paul R. Billings, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.M.G.G., CEO and Director of Biological Dynamics. "We must more fully understand the risks and benefits of early detection methods in all individuals including those at high-risk for pancreatic cancer. These two studies will add important observations as we evolve to better management of disease risk and sensitive diagnoses." Curta develops models that characterize how new health technologies can influence care and outcomes in the real world. The Curta study for Biological Dynamics will explore the potential health and economic outcomes of early PDAC detection with the Biological Dynamics' PDAC assay from a US payor perspective. It is hypothesized that shifting diagnoses from regional and distant stages to the localized stage in high-risk adults will result in improved survival and quality of life. "A blood test is much easier to administer for patients compared to a battery of imaging technologies. It can make clinical flow easier by saving unnecessary tests when the PDAC assay is negative," said Scott D. Ramsey, M.D, Ph.D., Senior Partner and CMO at Curta. Dr. Ramsey went on to say "Our modeling will characterize the current standard of care for surveillance of patients with high risk for pancreatic cancer. Our model will provide scenarios where the assay can improve guideline adherence, potentially reducing costs and improving outcomes — and put this evidence into a framework that payors will understand. Ultimately, we are hopeful it will improve the state of evidence supporting future guidelines." QURE Healthcare measures clinical practice patterns among physicians to understand how new technologies will affect patient care. The QURE study for Biological Dynamics will investigate if use of the company's PDAC assay would alter physician behavior using a randomized controlled trial with QURE's Clinical Performance and Value (CPV®) patient simulations. "The study will provide evidence-based outcomes to determine if the assay will change clinical decisions when managing patients at high risk for PDAC as well as those presenting with symptoms of possible pancreatic cancer," said John Peabody, M.D., Ph.D., FACP President of QURE Healthcare and Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. "This is an enormously complicated area with a paucity of evidence around guidelines and preventive care. We are enrolling physicians now in a randomized controlled trial so that we can uniquely determine if this leads to an earlier evaluation. We are excited about the assay and its potential to dramatically change medicine," Dr. Peabody continued. About Biological Dynamics Biological Dynamics, Inc. is committed to improving global health outcomes by detecting diseases at the earliest stages. The company's proprietary ExoVerita™ platform simplifies isolation of extracellular vesicles, enabling multiomic applications. In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Device Designation for its PDAC assay, for early detection of the aggressive and lethal pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in high-risk populations. Its AACC award-winning PDAC assay operates in a College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited, CLIA-certified clinical laboratory in San Diego. For more information visit or LinkedIn. CONTACT: Kellee Johnson 312-751-3959 [email protected] SOURCE Biological Dynamics

Sweetch, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to help patients manage chronic conditions, today landed $20 million in Series A funding. Entrée Capital led the funding, with participation from Tal Capital, Noaber, Kortex Ventures, Insurtech VC FinTLV Ventures, Philips, OurCrowd and Qure Ventures. The Israeli company now has around $27.5 million in venture dollars, according to Crunchbase. WHAT THEY DO The startup designed a patient engagement tool that is personalized to the patient's needs. It uses AI and what it calls “emotional intelligence (EI) behavioral science technology” to help patients manage their condition. Patients are able to track activity, weight, meals and habits through an app – and see their progress over time. According to Sweetch, the tool can gather various data points and then convert that into specific personalized action steps that users can take toward their goals, such as when they may have time to take a walk. The platform also gives users coaching interventions to help them keep on track. Sweetch offers its own app, as well as a white label app for specific organizations and a Sweetch SDK in an existing app. WHAT IT’S FOR The company said the new funds will be used for global expansion. Developing more AI and "EI" tools is also on the docket, according to a release. “90 percent of healthcare costs in the US are attributable to chronic diseases, which afflict 50 percent of the population. We need a scalable solution to provide better care at lower costs. This seemingly contradictory statement can be achieved through technology like Sweetch," Dr. Doron Dinstein, Venture Partner at Entrée Capital, said in a statement. "Sweetch’s digital therapeutic platform provides sustainable behavior changes and has been shown to significantly impact people’s lives. We see the company radically improving the economics of healthcare." MARKET SNAPSHOT Sweetch has previously teamed up with Johns Hopkins on a study, which found that prediabetic patients who used the Sweetch coaching program lost weight and increased physical activity. In 2020, the company was selected to be part of a new Bayer Digital Health Partnership Program, which is centered around helping companies find big commercial deals. Chronic disease management is a hot topic in digital health. One of the biggest names in the space is Livongo, which got its start in diabetes care. After going public in 2019, the company was purchased by virtual care giant Teladoc for a whopping $18.5 billion. Another major name in the personalized chronic care space is Omada. While Omada also started out focused on diabetes, it recently began to move into physical therapy after the acquisition of Physera in 2020.