A Singapore startup has a real shot at stamping out cancer deaths

It was an unusual sight: over 200 seniors gathered in a typically quiet community center in Singapore on a Saturday – not for a line dancing routine, but to have their blood drawn.

Adding to the pomp was a special guest: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. As he shook hands and made small talk, he flashed a grin.

The seniors, sponsored by charities, were undergoing a cutting-edge early detection test for stomach cancer. The Singaporean biotech startup Mirxes (pronounced Mer-raxis) was behind the test.

The company is chasing after the holy grail of medicine: the prevention of cancer. The ticking bomb causes one in six deaths worldwide, and could prove more lethal in an aging population.

Cancer is an insidious killer because its symptoms often don’t manifest until much later. Stomach (or gastric) cancer is a good example: it’s not the most prevalent, but it’s one of the hardest to spot. That’s partly because endoscopy, the method typically used to detect it, involves passing a thin tube with an attached camera down the throat and into the gut – an invasive, manual process.

The value of smarter detection

Mirxes’ test, called GastroClear, is less daunting. After a patient’s blood is drawn, the sample is sent to a lab and analyzed for markers that indicate the likelihood of stomach cancer.

Patients receive a simple, color-coded score, allowing doctors to formulate action plans. It’s a sort of early warning system: green means there’s nothing to worry about, yellow means the person has an above-average likelihood of getting cancer, and red means the person is at risk.

“Instead of just trying to save the one person who has late-stage cancer, we’re trying to save the nine people that don’t have cancer,” Isaac Ho, chief investment officer of Mirxes, tells Tech in Asia.

The test results give people a chance to change cancer-causing lifestyle habits before it’s too late. For those genetically predisposed to the disease, it’s a reminder that they should constantly get checked to increase the odds of early detection and survival.

Cancer prevention benefits not just individuals at risk, but the bigger picture too. Prevention means less congestion in hospitals. It also reduces the burden on caregivers, as well as family and friends: those who bear the financial and emotional costs of caring for loved ones.

Mirxes’ potential has attracted high-profile investors.

Science flex

Breakout market

Long to-do list

Human quirks