New skin cancer detection tool approved in Australia

Canada's Verisante Technology has received regulatory approval to sell Verisante Aura, its instant skin cancer diagnostics tool, in the Australian market.

Verisante Aura uses Raman spectroscopy to biochemically analyse the skin. It is capable of assessing skin lesions for diagnosis in less than two seconds, without the need for a biopsy.

It is designed to evaluate skin lesions that may be indicative of melanoma, or squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma.

The technology uses a proprietary cancer detection platform developed by the British Columbia Cancer Agency, and exclusively licensed to Verisante.

The Verisante Aura was approved for sale in Canada and Europe late last year.

Verisante president and CEO Thomas Braun said the company viewed launching in the Australian market as a key goal, given that Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer incidences in the world – 13 times the global average.

“Obtaining Australian approval completes the Company’s regulatory goals for 2011,” he said.

According to the Department of Health and Ageing, Australian GPs have more than one million patient consultations per year for skin cancer, or more than 2,000 visits per day.

Verisante is also commercialising another set of diagnostics tools using the same platform - the Verisante Core series, for lung, colon and cervical cancer detection. But the Core has not yet been approved for sale.