ASX Health Stocks: Cleo up 30pc and GTG up 13pc after cancer test kit progress

Cleo jumps 30pc after publishing study results

Cleo Diagnostics (ASX:COV) surged nearly 30% this morning after announcing a breakthrough article on its blood test for early ovarian cancer detection.

The article, entitled ‘Utility of a Multi-Marker Panel with Ultrasound for Enhanced Classification of Adnexal Mass’ was published in peer reviewed medical journal, “Cancers”.

The article was based on Cleo’s recent study, which compared its ovarian cancer blood test with the standard methods of using CA125 (a test that measures the amount of cancer antigen CA125 in the blood) and ultrasound.

Results showed Cleo’s test was much better at spotting early-stage cancers, correctly identifying 90% of them, compared to the standard methods, which only got 50% right.

This suggests Cleo’s test could greatly improve early detection of ovarian cancer.

Cleo is now moving forward with its commercialisation plans, and it’s working on several initiatives to ensure its tests are adopted once they are approved and launched.

The publication strategy is a key part of that, providing solid clinical evidence that supports the use of their tests by healthcare providers. The publication also strengthens Cleo’s case for insurance coverage, which is important for generating revenue early on.

“Our peer-reviewed publication strategy is delivering gold-standard clinical evidence which is vitally important as we begin to engage with potential early adopters of our technology,” said Cleo’s chief executive, Richard Allman.

“More broadly, these encouraging results on early-stage cancer detection provide impetus for us to progress the development of Cleo’s screening test for ovarian cancer.”

GTG also introduces new ovarian test kit

Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) meanwhile jumped +13% this morning after introducing its new geneType Comprehensive Risk Assessment test.

This groundbreaking test covers 100% of women who are at risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Available to all women over 30, it evaluates the risk of cancer caused by genetic factors, including common gene mutations, as well as non-hereditary factors.

Data suggests that 5% to 10% of these cancers are due to gene mutations, while the rest occur randomly.

This presents a huge market opportunity for geneType, GTG says.

In the US alone, there’s about 1 in 8 chance of a woman being diagnosed with breast cancer each year, totalling around 310,000 cases. While less common, ovarian cancer still affects 19,600 women annually, resulting in 12,700 deaths.

Peter Rubinstein, GTG’s chairman, said the company is gearing up for big demand for this groundbreaking product, and to be ready for that, it has set up a lab in the US that can handle up to 100,000 tests a month if needed.