06 Jun NeoClone gets $750K for ovarian cancer detection
Madison, Wis. – Of all the forms of cancer, ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult to detect in its early stages. The federal government is providing incentives for companies to develop methods of early detection, and a Madison biotechnology company is one of the beneficiaries.
NeoClone Biotechnology International, which develops monoclonal antibodies for use in research, has landed a $750,000 federal contract to continue research into biological markers that signal ovarian cancer, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.
The grant was awarded by the National Cancer Institute, which says ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among American women, and that current screening tests have not been proven to decrease the death rate.
NeoClone has developed a way to produce monoclonal antibodies in an accelerated time frame, and they can produce antibodies that bind to a specific substance in the detection process. The antibodies bind to molecules associated with various diseases, including several forms of cancer, and NeoClone is developing a new test with up to 50 antibodies to help speed detection of ovarian cancer.
NeoClone, spun out of University of Wisconsin-Madison research in 1999, reported annual sales of $800,000 last year, 40 percent of which were made internationally. The company employs nine people at its Madison facility.
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