Minomic seeks to set prostate cancer test standard

Sydney-based Minomic has developed a prostate cancer screening diagnostic it hopes will be able to replace the ageing and widely criticised PSA test.

The new test, MiSat, has been almost twice as accurate as the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test during clinical trials in Australian men. The PSA has been widely criticised for its lack of specificity and propensity to produce false positives.

Minomic aims to commercialise MiSat in the US at the end of next year, and CEO Dr Brad Walsh said he hopes it will replace the PSA as the de facto prostate cancer screening test within five years.

“The PSA test has been around for 30 years, but is responsible for large numbers of false positive results, as a result of common benign inflammatory conditions. Our technology is more specific,” he said.

“We say this is a better, more predictive test that is set to revolutionise prostate cancer screening not only in Australia but around the world.”

MiSat involves screening a urine or blood sample for a specific protein only found in prostate cancer cells. It can currently be completed within a few hours, but Walsh said the company hopes to cut this down to around 15 minutes with a future point-of-care version of the test.

Following the US launch, Minomic intends to commercialise the test in Australia in 2015 or 2016.

Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australian men but, with early detection, also has one of the highest five-year survival rates at more than 80%.