JW Holdings said it has received a patent in EU for its liquid biopsy technology to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer. The company plans to complete the patent acquisition procedures for major European countries such as Britain, France, and Germany.

JW Holdings said its technology is an innovative diagnostic platform that allows the stage of progression of cancer to be tested at the same time, by utilizing the substances expressed in the early and late stages of pancreatic cancer.

“The technology acquired by JW Holdings is an innovative diagnostic platform that makes the detection of the progression of pancreatic cancer possible, by simultaneously using substances expressed during the disease's early and late stages,” the company said.

The kit is the first of its kind to test CFB antigens found during the early stages of pancreatic cancer. Until now, most pancreatic cancer diagnoses looked for CA19-9, a cancer-specific antigen that reacts primarily in end-stage patients, it added.

JW Bioscience, a subsidiary of JW Holdings, is now developing a multi-biomarker diagnostic kit and an algorithm that can detect pancreatic cancer during its early stages with a simple blood test. The company plans to begin clinical trials after the prototype performance evaluation clinical trial in the second half of 2019.

"The company is establishing a favorable position in the high value-added in vitro diagnostic market by expanding patent target countries for its early diagnosis technology of pancreatic cancer," a company official said. "JW Bioscience will be able to build on its innovative in vitro diagnostics infrastructure to meet the unmet demand for diagnostics."

Pancreatic cancer is a disease that causes about 1,000 fatalities on average a day in the world. In Korea, more than 5,000 cases occur annually. Early diagnosis is essential for the incurable illness as it has a low survival rate of roughly 7 to 8 percent.

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