ROTTERDAM (the Netherlands) and SAN DIEGO (US), September 2, 2019: Benelux’ largest biotech investor Aat van Herk commits a €20 million investment in diagnostics company SkylineDx after reaching major milestones in 2018, financing SkylineDx’ market potential of over $1 billion annually based on their current progress in the melanoma (skin cancer) field. This melanoma test is discovered by a renowned US hospital and further optimized and developed by SkylineDx. Based on the unique combination of genetic information from the primary melanoma cells and other patient and tumor characteristics, the test is able to accurately predict the risk of having metastases present in the lymph nodes without having to undergo a surgery to remove (part of the) lymph nodes. Expert physicians estimate that up to 80% of these biopsies could be safely avoided as they turn out to have no sign of cancerous cells.
“This capital commitment is a very significant call of confidence”, says Dharminder Chahal, CEO SkylineDx. “With the financial requirements secured and Professor Alexander Eggermont on board as our medical advisor, we can initiate the necessary clinical studies in collaboration with expert physicians, patient associations and other stakeholders, in order to get this test from bench to bedside and reimbursed”. Professor Alexander Eggermont is the general director of cancer center Gustave Roussy in Paris and a highly respected expert physician in the melanoma space.
“It is a great feeling that our efforts are lining up, getting our dream – to improve a patient’s quality of life by enabling them to benefit from personal insights at the genetic level of their disease – within reach”, concludes Dharminder Chahal.
About SkylineDx
SkylineDx is a high-tech commercial-stage biotech company headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and a commercial office and CAP/CLIA certified laboratory in San Diego, California, USA. The company uses its expertise to bridge the gap between academically discovered gene expression signatures and commercially available diagnostic products with high clinical utility. With the focus on diagnostics, SkylineDx assists healthcare professionals in accurately determining the type or status of the disease or to predict a patient’s response to a specific treatment. Based on the test results, healthcare professionals can tailor the treatment to the individual patient. To learn more, please visit www.skylinedx.com.