St. Louis gastrointestinal health startup Geneoscopy Inc. said Tuesday it has partnered with a major health care diagnostics firm to distribute a screening test for colorectal cancer it soon plans to begin commercializing.
Geneoscopy has entered into a multiyear agreement with Labcorp (NYSE: LH) to provide its preventive, at-home screening test for colorectal cancer. With the agreement, Labcorp will be able to provide Geneoscopy’s test, called ColoSense, to health care providers as part of their patient screening programs, the startup said. Financial terms of the distribution deal were not disclosed.
The agreement partners Geneoscopy with a major laboratory and diagnostics firm, with Burlington, North Carolina-based Labcorp having more than 80,000 employees and $14.9 billion in 2022 revenue. Labcorp has previous ties to Geneoscopy, having been an investor in a $105 million financing closed by the St. Louis startup in 2021.
Labcorp will begin offering Geneoscopy’s colorectal cancer screening test once it is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a news release said. Geneoscopy anticipates FDA approval in the first half of 2024, Chief Commercial Officer Vince Wong said in an interview.
“This agreement builds on Labcorp’s commitment to bring the latest advancements in cancer screening and diagnostic testing to healthcare providers and patients,” said Brian Caveney, chief medical and scientific officer at Labcorp, in a statement. “Geneoscopy’s highly sensitive colorectal cancer screening test, once approved, will be another innovative, accessible and reliable option available to providers and patients nationwide for the detection of colorectal cancer.”
Geneoscopy earlier this year filed for premarket approval with the FDA, which involves the FDA reviewing the safety and efficacy of medical devices and is required for companies to be able to market their devices. Geneoscopy in January released results of its clinical trial, saying the study found its stool-based test “can accurately detect if people have cancer and if they have advanced adenomas that put them at higher risk of developing cancer.” Results reported by Geneoscopy said the study found its test had 94% sensitivity for detecting colorectal cancer and 45% sensitivity for detecting advanced adenomas.
Wong told the Business Journal that partnering with Labcorp will be key to commercializing its screening test because of the diagnostic firm’s “extensive reach.” He said distribution deals are important to expanding access to Geneoscopy’s test once it's commercialized. Such deals don’t require Geneoscopy to build out and hire for an expansive sales team operation for distribution, Wong said, adding that raising capital for such an investment could be difficult in the current venture capital market, with investors pouring fewer dollars in startups in recent quarters.
“The Labcorp arrangement allows us to reach all those patients and clinicians in a very capital-efficient manner,” Wong said.
Labcorp will have exclusive distribution in the primary care and gastrointestinal health care segments, Wong said. Geneoscopy could seek out distribution partnerships in other channels, including telemedicine, retail, obstetrics and gynecology, and senior living, according to Wong.
Geneoscopy has its headquarters at 2220 Welsch Industrial Court, near Westport Plaza.
