Exclusive | CUHK’s Dennis Lo launches blood tests with Prenetics Group to find cancer cells in the liver and lungs, propelling Hong Kong’s role as R&D hub for life sciences
- Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Prenetics Group will establish a US$200 million venture called Insighta
- Insighta will provide clinically administered blood tests for as little as US$200 to screen for cancer cells in the liver and the lungs by 2025
Lo, the director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences and the chairman of the Department of Chemical Pathology at the CUHK’s Faculty of Medicine, will own half of the venture. The other half will be owned by Nasdaq-listed Prenetics, which will invest US$80 million in cash, and US$20 million in stock.
Insighta’s “technological framework” is based on the “particular insight that ..... cancer cells release DNA into an individual’s bloodstream, so by taking a blood sample, we can test for those [cancerous] DNA,” Lo said in an interview with South China Morning Post last week. “How accurate the test is, is a matter of execution power. So, the combination of our technological framework with Prenetics’ tests [makes a] very strong” venture, he said.
Existing tests for cancer usually involve biopsies of tumorous cells or the search of “tumour markers” with relatively low accuracy.
“Cost is a vital determinant in the viability of any breakthrough science,” Lo said. “Our objective is to transform early cancer detection from a luxury to a universally accessible necessity.”
Insighta’s technique looks for cell-free DNA (cfDNA) - various forms of genetic material including tumour DNA (ctDNA) - that circulate in bodily fluids.
Known as FRAGMA, the technique can be offered for as little as US$200 (HK$1,565) in test kits that are clinically administered, a significant saving that puts regular assessments within the reach of many individuals through annual health check-ups, said Danny Yeung Sheng-wu, the chief executive of Prenetics and the new venture.
“We are presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to influence “the health of 1 billion individuals in Asia,” Yeung said. “We intend to forge alliances with healthcare institutions and forward-thinking governments that align with our vision – a commitment to save lives through the power of early cancer detection.”
Insighta, located at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), will begin a multi-country clinical trial of 5,000 patients in early 2024, and the initial Presight tests will be focused on liver and lung cancer, the 1st and 2nd most deadliest cancers in mainland China.
The company plans to make it commercially available first on the mainland and Hong Kong in 2025, said Lo, the venture’s chairman.
“The launch of Insighta is an important deal and a clear signal that Hong Kong has established itself as a fast-growth biomedical technology hub,” said the HKSTP’s chief executive Albert Wong, noting that the venture’s location at the science park reflects the facilities’ value “as a platform to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and commercialisation.”
Liver cancer hotspot China may be a boon for screening test makers
Lung and liver cancers were the two most common cancers in China last year, estimated to cost the nation US$25 billion and US$11 billion respectively in economic costs, according to the US National Library of Medicine.
The initial test could be particularly significant for mainland China, where 90 million people are estimated to be carriers of the hepatitis B virus, the leading cause of liver cancer. China makes up 25 per cent of the world’s chronic hepatitis B infections, while Liver cancer is China’s fifth-most common type of cancer, according to the World Health Organization.
Because the underlying technology can be “generalised into multi-cancer tests,” Insighta can gradually expand into detecting more than 10 types of cancerous cells with its Presight One test kits in 2027, Lo said.
Doctor who changed life for pregnant women predicts biotech boom
The venture -the largest life sciences transaction in Asia this year – would also spearhead the development of a life science ecosystem in Hong Kong, and help the city’s position as a biotech hub.
This is not Lo’s first attempt at commercialising his technology. The Oxford -educated researcher co-founded Cirina, which also worked on early cancer detection. It was sold in 2017 to the US healthcare company Grail for US$300 million. Grail was taken over in 2021 by Illumina, the world’s leading genome sequencing company, for US$7.1 billion.
Instead of selling his intellectual property to Silicon Valley or Wall Street venture capital firms this time, Lo said he chose to establish a venture in Hong Kong instead to contribute to the development of the city’s life science ecosystem.
