Dune Medical lands $3.4m EU grant

Dune Medical Devices said today it won a $3.4 million (EU €3 million) European Union Horizon 2020 research grant.

The company said it is 1 of 65 companies selected to receive funding from the $91 billion (EU €80 billion) 7-year program aiming to “secure Europe’s global competitiveness.”

“This 3 million euro grant will expedite bringing our soft tissue biopsy system to the market. It will provide radiologists and surgeons immediate graphic characterizations of tissue abnormalities along the tip of the biopsy needle, just before samples are taken. This real-time insight can help reduce the time to a definite diagnosis and repeated biopsies. Our proprietary biopsy device can also be used in combination with other existing devices,” CEO Dan Hashimshony said in a press release.

Paoli, Pa.-based Dune Medical’s 1st commercial product is its MarginProbe breast cancer surgical device designed for real-time detection of cancer in breast conserving surgeries.

“We bring objectivity to procedures that were based mostly upon clinical judgment until now. Improving the standard of care around cancer surgery is what we work for every day. Our biopsy device is another step along the path to a much broader spectrum of margin detection, which we believe will lead to applications in many other types of soft tissue analysis including other types of cancer surgeries,” Dune Medical prez Lori Chmura said in prepared remarks.

The company said that, based on the success of its MarginProbe, it will be expanding its RF spectroscopy platform through the development of a next-gen product to aid surgeons in performing biopsies, specifically soft tissue biopsies with a planned 1st indication for breast tissue.

In June, Dune Medical said the U.K.’s National Health Service is launching a study of its MarginProbe device, which is designed to spot cancerous cells on the margins of breast tumors.

Dune said the NHS’s National Institute of Health Research arm is funding a study to see whether MarginProbe reduces the need for further re-excision procedures after lumpectomy procedures.

The 460-patient study, led by Dr. Nigel Bundrud of the University Hospital of Southern Manchester, is a randomized, prospective, double arm trial. It’s designed to monitor the number of patients who require additional surgery at 9 months and compare quality-of-life and cosmetic outcomes; a health economics analysis is also part of the study, Dune said.

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