Singapore team gets funding to ‘eliminate late-stage cancer’

After eight years in development, a Singapore startup is preparing to launch its cancer-testing kits. The team’s vision, says co-CEO Dr. Zhou Lihan, is “a world without late-stage cancer.”

“Late diagnosis is really why the prognosis of cancer patients are so poor today,” explains Zhou. He adds that for many cancers, “if they are discovered at the early stage, the five-year survival is more than 90 percent. Many of which can even be cured.”

Photo credit: Liz West’s Flickr

Cancer will kill an estimated 9.6 million people in 2018, accounting for one in six of all deaths.

The World Health Organization says that screening and early diagnosis can reduce the death toll.

Zhou’s startup, Ark, today announced it has secured US$40 million in series A funding ahead of the early 2019 rollout of its first non-invasive, blood-based cancer test kit, which is focused on gastric cancer.

At present, screening for stomach cancer generally involves an upper endoscopy.

Going after the biggest killer

The startup aims to eradicate late-stage cancer by 2048 with the aid of its affordable and easy-to-use test kits. The date was set, Zhou explains, “to inspire our own team” as they eventually develop kits for other forms of cancer.

Its test for gastric cancer will initially launch in Singapore and China, costing “below 200 Singapore dollars,” which is around US$145. Prices may vary across markets due to wildly differing lab work costs.

Dr. Zhou Lihan. Photo credit: Ark

The gastric kit was honed in a clinical study involving 5,200 people, hitting a detection accuracy rate of 0.87, which is “significantly higher compared to traditional stomach cancer blood markers whose accuracies range from 0.55 to 0.7,” notes Zhou.

It’s awaiting regulatory approval in Singapore and China ahead of launch.

Zhou and the Ark crew will then turn their attention to a gadget that tests for lung cancer.

Money to build

First startup