BioMark Diagnostics Inc. announce that BioMark and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York ("Icahn Mount Sinai") have entered into collaborative research agreement to work together on clinical studies related to early lung cancer diagnosis for at risk population using a set of proprietary plasma biomarkers and machine learning algorithms discovered and developed by BioMark. Icahn Mount Sinai and BioMark have agreed to explore multiple areas of collaboration as they share a mutual interest in researching, developing, and commercializing an integrative "multiomics" test for early detection and management of cancer following a successful outcome of this study. The partnership also aims to develop a diagnostic test to determine lung cancer subtype and stage using CTC (exosomes) and metabolomics.

The first clinical proof of principle retrospective study being conducted with Icahn Mount Sinai involves an analytical validation of BioMark's blood-based multianalyte metabolite screening tests for the early detection of lung cancer. The expanded retrospective cohort, now totaling over 1400 samples, will be used not only to validate the performance of the metabolite biomarker panel for early lung cancer detection but also evaluate its ability to differentiate lung cancer from other medical conditions. This initiative is part of BioMark's effort to commercialize its liquid-biopsy technology that leverages the latest advances in metabolomics and machine learning algorithms in the US.

The test developed through this dynamic collaboration would offer the opportunity to screen nearly 16 million individuals eligible for lung cancer screening under current US guidelines. However, the current national lung cancer screening penetration rates is still less than 6% and could thus be significantly improved with a widely accessible blood-based cancer screening.