Perth-based medtech innovator OncoRes Medical has secured $27 million in private funding, which will help progress clinical trials in breast cancer surgery using its world-class precision imaging technology.
The University of Western Australia spinout announced its funding to progress clinical development and regulatory milestones for its Quantitative Micro-Elastography Imaging System, Elora.
OncoRes has opened an Australian clinical trial, which will include six different hospitals in Western Australia and Victoria and recruit 110 breast cancer patients. This marks the first time the imaging system will be used as an intervention.
Among women, breast cancer remains the most common cancer. This device provides real-time tumour assessment to help surgeons more accurately identify and remove cancerous tissue – an approach that could improve outcomes in breast-conserving surgery and reduce repeat operations.
OncoRes Medical CEO Dr Katharine Giles, a UWA medicine and MBA graduate, said the injection of capital was a strong endorsement of the company's technology and its potential to positively impact so many lives.
"The funding will be used to support our Australian clinical trial, together with product development, regulatory milestones and manufacturing for our US Pivotal Trial," Dr Giles said.
"We will also expand the team and progress proof-of-concept work for this technology in other cancer types, including prostate cancer.
"Expanding the reach and impact of this innovative, patient-centric technology at home and abroad represents a meaningful achievement for Australia's innovation sector at large."
As part of the company's targeted move towards regulatory approval and commercial presence in the US, OncoRes recently welcomed new Board member, Renee Ryan.
Ms Ryan is a respected leader in the global healthcare and medical device industries, with decades of experience supporting strategic innovation, capital raising and executive level leadership.
"I'm excited to join OncoRes Medical at such a pivotal stage in the company's growth," Ms Ryan said. "This team has developed a truly groundbreaking approach to improving breast-conserving surgery, giving surgeons real-time insight that can reduce the burden of repeat operations for patients.
"I've spent my career working with innovators who reshape what's possible in the operating room, and OncoRes stands out for both its technology and its unwavering focus on patient impact.
"I look forward to helping guide the company as it advances toward US clinical milestones and prepares for long-term commercial expansion."
OncoRes was spun out of UWA in 2016 on the back of groundbreaking research at UWA, the Western Australian Department of Health and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, led by world-renowned breast cancer surgeon and researcher Professor Christobel Saunders AO and biomedical engineer Professor Brendan Kennedy.
