Cyclomics and the University Medical Center Utrecht obtained 50.000 EUR in funding for further technical development and evaluation of their highly accurate mutation detection technology, which is based on proprietary DNA concatemerization technology and novel bioinformatics algorithms for mutation detection.
Within the context of the Take Off grant, the Cyclomics team and researchers from the University Medical Center Utrecht will test the detection limits of their technology. Based on carefully designed titration experiments, both the minimum of absolute and relative amounts of mutated DNA molecules will be determined. Getting insights into both parameters is an essential step towards further improvement of the technology and serves as a prelude to clinical testing in patients.
Cyclomics aims to start testing their assay on patient liquid biopsy samples in late 2018. “The limited amount of circulating DNA molecules in liquid biopsies requires the ultra-sensitive and accurate detection methods offered by Cyclomics”, says Dr. Alessio Marcozzi, founder and Principal Scientist at Cyclomics. “We expect to improve the accuracy of Cyclomics ctDNA sequencing technology, based on the outcomes of this Take Off study”.
The project is planned to commence in December 2018 and runs till May 2019.