Lumicell, a privately held company focused on developing innovative fluorescence-guided imaging technologies for cancerous tissue detection during surgery, today announced Lumicell was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a novel flexible endoscopic platform that combines far-red fluorescence and reflected light imaging to detect precancerous and early-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) under standard clinical endoscopy.
Collaborating with Lumicell on the project are Dr. Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, Vice-chair of Research in the Division of Gastroenterology at MGH and Dr. David A. Drew, Assistant Professor in the MGH Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit. “This award enables the team to expand upon Lumicell’s groundbreaking breast cancer research into additional oncological surgical applications,” said Dr. Chan. “We are looking forward to collaborating with Lumicell to transform the early detection of esophageal cancer.”
EAC is one of the more common gastrointestinal cancers and is potentially curable; however, it is typically detected in advanced stages with a five-year survival rate less than 15%. The current approach to early detection is through endoscopy and random biopsy in patients with precancerous lesions (Barrett’s esophagus). This approach has poor sensitivity, is resource-intensive, and does not permit real-time identification of lesions for immediate treatment.
Lumicell will use the NIH awarded funds to develop a novel flexible endoscopic imaging platform, leveraging the company’s proprietary fluorescence imaging technology to detect, in real-time and in situ, potentially cancerous lesions in patients with Barrett’s esophagus. This novel approach has the potential to improve early detection of commonly missed esophageal lesions.
“Lumicell’s novel fluorescence technology could be a game-changer in the early detection of dysplasia that may otherwise not be detectable within a background of Barrett’s esophagus,” said Brian Schlossberg, Ph.D., Vice President, New Business Strategy and Innovation, Lumicell. “This grant is a very exciting opportunity to further develop our platform technology in a new indication that may alter the extent of esophageal resections and cancer-related morbidity.”
The award period for the contract begins September of 2024 with a funding period of one year.
Currently, LUMISIGHT (pegulicianine) is approved for use in combination with Lumicell DVS to detect cancerous tissue within the breast cavity as an adjunct during the lumpectomy procedure. Lumicell is investigating a novel flexible endoscope for use with LUMISIGHT to detect early esophageal lesions.
