December 19, 2008
CANCER DIAGNOSTIC TOOL MOVES TOWARD MARKET
FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University and NeoTREX, the private enterprise arm of the university’s cancer Supercluster, have inked a license agreement with the Veterinary Diagnostic Institute of Irvine, Calif., covering a cancer detection test for dogs.
Under the agreement, the technology co-invented by faculty members at CSU’s renowned Animal Cancer Center and scientists at the California lab will be commercialized and marketed by the diagnostic institute.
The simple blood test measures levels of a special enzyme that suggests a dog might have hemangiosarcoma, a cancer that occurs mostly in large-breed dogs over the age of 8. The cancer can result in internal hemorrhage leading to death. Ultrasound is the only other diagnostic tool used for the detection of the cancer.
Nearly half of the 75 million pet dogs older than 10 in the United States will die from cancer. The Veterinary Diagnostic Institute will market the hemangiosarcoma test along with another that detects lymphoma in dogs.
NeoTREX translates CSU research discoveries into products that aid in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The agency is a division of the nonprofit CSU Ventures Inc.
The university’s cancer Supercluster is a multi-disciplinary group of faculty members from across various campus departments who are engaged in cancer research.