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Innovative Protein Microarrays
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Predictive protein profile in breast cancer patients

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State: Virginia

Biotraces has developed a new blood test that can detect breast cancer at its earliest stage,
before the appearance of any physical symptoms. The test has been shown to be
approximately 1000 times more sensitive than existing diagnostic methods and is able to
correctly detect the disease in 97 percent of cases. The test can also be modified to detect other
forms of epithelial cancer, including skin, prostate and ovarian.

Biotraces’ unique platform utilizes an improved radioactive tracer detection system
originally developed for cosmology. The instrument detects decay products of radioactive
isotopes incorporated into target molecules using a novel multi-photon detector (MPD)
that overcomes the problem of background noise. The coupling of the MPD to a
sandwich immunoassay is what enables the company to perform its ultra-sensitive
immunoassays, which are over 500 times more sensitive than conventional
immunoassays.

Biotraces’ success is based largely on support from government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. The company has already secured over $1 million in venture funding and its recent results position it favorably for raising additional capital.


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