Program Recognizes Groundbreaking Technologies that Change the GI Landscape
[MARCH 2, 2023 – CHICAGO, IL] NovaScan, a clinical stage oncology company, has been selected by the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) as a finalist in its annual Shark Tank competition for the company’s innovative nsCanary™ device. NovaScan’s President and CEO Craig Davis will present to a group of key thought leaders in the GI space on March 10 at the AGA Tech Summit in San Francisco.
Now in its 13th year, the AGA Tech Summit is the only event focused on fostering the development and adoption of GI technology. Its Shark Tank Pitch Competition showcases GI innovations, with the top five applicants pitching their innovations to a panel of expert judges. The winner receives widespread promotion by the AGA and represents the AGA in the 2023 Digestive Disease Week® Shark Tank. The Shark Tank winner will also undergo due diligence and be considered for the AGA GI Opportunity Fund, managed by Varia Ventures, a venture capital firm.
nsCanary™ is a compact, low-cost ex vivo (outside the body) device designed to help clinicians make real time cancer determinations. nsCanary™ will help clinicians determine whether cancer is present in tissue acquired via endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy (EUS FNB), tissue acquired via biopsy forceps or tissue acquired via polypectomy snare. nsCanary™ could also help clinicians determine if there is sufficient cancer in a sample to make a histological assessment. Collectively, NovaScan sees their device as enabling more productive and less expensive procedures, simultaneously expediting tissue diagnosis, therefore, improving patient management.
The technology platform is currently being evaluated in a number of clinical areas, including dermatology, breast, and pulmonary, as well as GI.
NovaScan recently initiated its first in-human clinical trial of the nsCanary™ at the Texas International Endoscopy Center (TIEC – Houston, TX), led by Principal Investigator Isaac Raijman, MD.
“The NovaScan nsCanary™ technology is truly groundbreaking,” commented Dr. Raijman, who also sits on the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. “The platform offers a real-time, high confidence diagnostic assessment of suspicious lesions in the GI tract – while the patient is still on the table! This streamlined approach presents a real potential for improved standard of care and significant cost savings for patients and payers.” Raijman continued, “The applications in cancer detection are abundant, and we are already seeing extremely positive results in our first GI patients.”
“The NovaScan platform could remarkably change the landscape of oncological diagnosis,” remarked Davis. “We are honored to be included as a finalist in the AGA Shark Tank competition. This recognition is a signal that demonstrates the truly innovative approach our technology platform delivers, not only in the GI space but also in lung/thoracic, dermatology and breast sectors.”
About NovaScan:
Based in Chicago, NovaScan (www.novascaninc.com) is a venture-backed clinical stage oncology diagnostic and stratification company that has developed a low cost, point of care platform for real time cancer detection and stratification. NovaScan’s platform is active in lung, breast, skin, and GI. The platform technology enables in vivo and ex vivo cancer detection, in real time and without expensive capital equipment or the need for steep clinician learning curves.