Developing a New Multiplex Assay for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer

Luminex Licensed Technologies Partner Spotlight: EDP Biotech

Early detection makes a real difference in outcomes for cancer patients. But for cases of colorectal cancer, detecting tumors in the earliest stages has been virtually impossible. The team at EDP Biotech is committed to changing that by developing a simple, accurate, blood-based diagnostic test for biomarkers of colorectal cancer. They’ve chosen to build this assay on xMAP® Technology due to its multiplexing capabilities and minimal sample requirements. We spoke with CEO Eric Mayer and Lead Scientist Jason Liggett to learn more about EDP Biotech and their exciting new assay.

What does EDP Biotech do?

EDP is a medical device and diagnostics company dedicated to beating colorectal cancer. We are working on our first multiplex assay to aid in early detection. Most of the other testing options available today are expensive, highly invasive, or simply messy—patients don’t want to take the test. We want to build on our experience in colorectal cancer to offer a simple blood test. For our staff, this is a personal mission.

How would early detection make a difference?

If colon cancer is caught early, the patient outcome is drastically improved. Five-year survival rates just plummet as you move from early stage to later stages. Most of these cancers are caught in late stage, when five-year survival is less than 15%. Most patients aren’t getting screened, even when they have increased risk.

How are you using xMAP® Technology?

The xMAP platform offered a really attractive option for screening a large number of biomarkers quickly while consuming a small amount of serum. We started with a large number of biomarkers and then narrowed those down to a dozen or so that we’re interested in putting into a single kit. We worked with MilliporeSigma for the custom development and manufacturing reagents for the single kit. We started working with the MAGPIX® System, and as we became more familiar with the technology, we moved up to FLEXMAP 3D® and paired it with an automated liquid handler for higher throughput. The technology has allowed us to grow and expand as our knowledge increased.

What will the EDP colorectal test look like when it’s ready?

We are hoping to launch the test next year. The final product will be a combination of the xMAP-based assay with our proprietary machine learning algorithm which takes those quantified values and converts them into a yes/no answer to help physicians determine whether they should recommend a follow-up colonoscopy to their patients.

How has your experience as a Licensed Technologies Partner been?

As a small company looking for a very robust and high-throughput technology that’s very sensitive, working with Luminex has been a good fit. There are also a lot of other Licensed Technologies Partners out there willing to help us. It feels like being part of a really tight-knit community of experts.

What’s next for the EDP team?

We are a small diagnostics company, and during the pandemic we responded quickly to help our community with COVID testing. As the world begins to return to its “new normal,” we will return to all hands on deck for the colorectal cancer assay. Based on the success of this test, though, we do have some other tests in the pipeline for early detection of other solid-tumor cancers and infectious diseases.

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