Institute for Cancer Research: The technology enables doctors to predict how breast cancer patients will respond to treatment in 70% of cases.
Israeli biotechnology start-up Optimata Ltd. has won a seal of approval from the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK. The company announced today that its joint project with Nottingham University Hospitals to test Optimata’s technology found that it will enable doctors to predict how breast cancer patients will respond to treatment in 70% of cases.
Optimata expects that the recognition by the UK institute will increase the level of interest in its product among potential customers. The company has agreements for the use of its technology with Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), and other drug companies.
Optimata was founded in 1999 by chairman Pro. Zvia Agur and has raised $2 million to date. The company is currently conducting clinical trials and has signed collaboration agreements with a number of companies. Optimata has developed a system for testing drug tolerance in patients. The patient data is fed into the system which then processes it and calculates the possible results of a certain mode of treatment. These results are then fed into another system which creates a “virtual patient” used to evaluate the possible treatment.
Optimata has also developed a system which can predict toxicity and efficacy levels in a drug during its development. It is one of the first tools of its kind in the healthcare industry and it is already in use. The system can select the most suitable treatment for any patient or test efficacy of drugs under development more efficiently and at lower cost.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 11, 2006
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