Verisante Technology Inc (VRS.H)

[weekend farmer]

VRSEF Profile Verisante: Cancer Detection Expertise
Published by Patrick Moore on February 18, 2014

If you ever become seriously ill, an excellent and timely diagnosis is priceless.
Verisante is a Canadian ISO certified medical device company that is making a difference by commercializing innovative systems for the early detection of cancer.
In just over 3 years, Verisante CEO, Thomas Braun has brought his Vancouver based medical technology company from concept to reality. “We are providing devices for the detection of skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer and others using a platform technology we licensed from the British Columbia Cancer Agency that in half a second looks a 21 different spectral biomarkers and determines whether or not the tissue you are looking at is malignant or benign”, he says.

Cancer continues to be a major cause of death in North America. The need for better tools to help doctors detect cancer early cannot be overstated.

Braun states that Verisante’s platform technology is the next generation medical technology because it contains a diagnostic algorithm. “It works in almost real time; it’s totally non-invasive and safe for the patient. We think those are the things that are essential to gaining rapid adoption of this technology.”

Verisante’s instruments use Ramen spectroscopy – generated by a laser – measuring vibrational and other low-frequency response from suspicious tissue to identify and diagnose lesions. This technology for diagnosing cancer is disruptive and revolutionary. It is highly accurate, very rapid, safe, and non-invasive. It can apply to many different types of cancer.

In 2013 Verisante’s “Aura” products – the first commercial machines for skin cancer detection – were put into use and tested in six clinics throughout Canada. Verisante Aura™ scans for 21 different cancer biomarkers in less than one second; providing immediate results – with 99% accuracy – and without an expensive and time-consuming biopsy.

Dr. Barry Lycka, an Edmonton Clinical and Cosmetic Dermatologist explains how it works. “There literally a fingerprint of every cancer. So the Aura can give us with 99% accuracy not only whether it’s one of those lesions but also it can compare it against pre-cancers, unknown cancers. It really is a good thing for our patients. It really is a scientific breakthrough.”

Verisante plans a full market release of the Aura this year.

Verisante has a strong management team and an excellent alliance with the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre. They fund an ongoing annual research grant of $250 thousand dollars. The company therefore has a constant stream of improvements and new inventions coming to the company out of this laboratory. Braun says, “It has proven to be sort of like a cornucopia of cancer detecting technologies”.

In 2012 Verisante was named “pick of the street” on the TSX Venture Exchange. In January 2013 Verisante won the prestigious International Prism Award for optics and photonics. The runner up was Olympus. Last April, the company won an Edison Award – one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business.

Verisante trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange at VRS

http://canadianinvestor.com/index.php/profile-verisante-cancer-detection-expertise/