Abcodia is a company that focuses on
biomarkers
In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, p ...
for
cancer screening
The objective of cancer screening is to detect cancer before symptoms appear, involving various methods such as blood tests, urine tests, DNA tests, and medical imaging. The purpose of screening is early cancer detection, to make the cancer easie ...
. Its aim is to discover biomarkers that can be used for the early detection of cancer.
Disease focus
Abcodia's primary focus is the study of
biomarker
In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...
s for
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
.
Cancer screening
On 18 September 2013 Abcodia announced that it had entered into an agreement for an exclusive license for the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA), a test studied for screening of ovarian cancer. The use of this test is not recommended by the FDA as there is no evidence it is either safe or effective.
History
Abcodia is a spin-out from
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
and was founded in 2010. UCL granted Abcodia the exclusive commercialisation rights to a serum collection created by clinical scientists at the Institute for Women's Health at UCL. The serum biobank was formed as part of the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening UKCTOCS, which was led by Professor
Ian Jacobs and Professor Usha Menon.
Awards
December 2012, Abcodia won four prizes at the
UK Startup Awards 2012 annual awards: Angel or VC-backed Business of the Year, Innovative Business of the Year, and Business Woman of the Year for its CEO Dr Julie Barnes. It also won the overall NatWest Startups Business of the Year for its work in cancer screening.
References
{{reflist
External links
Abcodia website
Biotechnology companies of the United Kingdom
Biotechnology companies established in 2010
2010 establishments in England