Cyted’s £3.4m grant will boost non-invasive cancer test in NHS community care settings
In one of the biggest grants of its type, Cyted has has been awarded £3.4million in funding to offer more diagnostic tests to NHS patients in primary and community care settings.
The fast-growing Station Road-based medical technology company, which started operations in 2020, has developed a non-invasive test coupled with AI to spot the early signs of oesophageal cancer in tissue samples. The simple test involves a patient swallowing a capsule which collects cells from the oesophagus in a process that takes just ten minutes. Cyted then digitises cell samples which are analysed by its pathologists.
The significant injection of funds from NHS England’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) will allow Cyted to run additional primary care clinics identifying patients suffering from Barrett’s oesophagus. Chronic reflux patients benefiting from the programme will be able to take a test in community settings to diagnose Barrett’s oesophagus symptoms, without needing to go into hospital.
As Barrett’s oesophagus can progress to become oesophageal cancer, swift diagnosis of the condition helps to identify more cancers early in future. The testing allows patients who have signs of early cancer to be prioritised for endoscopies, making it easier to triage waiting lists and reduce pressure on endoscopy services.
The grant comes from the NHS Cancer Programme, supported by SBRI Healthcare and Accelerated Access Collaborative, to enable the enhancement of efficiency, coordination and communication throughout the care pathway for people living with chronic reflux.
The new funding follows a £500,000 SBRI grant awarded last year to Cyted to pilot its test technology in community care settings in the North West of England. Both grants were awarded as part of Cyted’s work to bring more testing into the community to increase accessibility for people living with chronic reflux and Barrett’s oesophagus.
Cyted’s diagnostic platform brings together a non-invasive test with data-driven biomarkers for early detection and risk stratification of cancers and inflammatory diseases. Its first application is in oesophageal cancer. Cyted has already delivered over 15,000 tests in more than 80 hospitals to diagnose and monitor patients who are suffering from Barrett’s oesophagus. Across the world, late diagnoses and long waiting times for endoscopies can lead to poor survival rates. Cyted’s technology helps to identify cancer in its earliest stages when treatment can be more effective.
Calling the news “a significant milestone for myself and the outstanding team at Cyted”, CEO Marcel Gehrung said: “Today’s announcement is great news for Cyted and for patients. It means we can get more quick, efficient tests out into communities, and make sure people can receive swift diagnoses without having to come into hospital. We are building on a long partnership with the NHS and looking forward to expanding that work.
“This substantial grant underlines the global potential of Cyted’s diagnostic technology. Worldwide, oesophageal cancer is a major global health issue and our non-invasive test can make a significant contribution to shortening waiting times and saving lives.”
The grant was awarded through an SBRI Healthcare competition. SBRI Healthcare is an NHS England & NHS Improvement initiative, supported by the Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and managed by LGC Group.
