Ann: Bard1 and Sienna Cancer Diagnostics announce merger, page-95

• From Investor update Jan 2020:
  
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SIEN-NET™ – our key to entering the global liquid biopsy market

Sienna’s acquisition of the Molecular Net technology (trademarked as SIEN-NET) in April 2019 represents a significant growth opportunity for the company in an emerging segment of medical diagnostics called liquid biopsy.

A liquid biopsy is a test performed on a body fluid sample, usually blood, that identifies substances (“biomarkers”) secreted from cancer cells. A critical technical requirement for the liquid biopsy approach to be clinically and commercially effective is an ability to rapidly purify or enrich the cancer-associated biomarkers in the patient sample. The Molecular Net technology, acquired from a US-based entity, is a unique and patented invention that allows rapid, specific and scalable capture of cancer biomarkers from a range of body fluids. The first commercial embodiment of SIEN-NET™ is EXO-NET™, which has been specifically designed to capture and enrich a patient sample for cancer-associated exosomes. Exosomes are tiny particles that are shed into the bloodstream from cancer cells. The global market for cancer diagnostics based on isolating and testing exosomes is expected to reach USD 2.28 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research Inc. EXO-NET has the potential to become a key technology in this massive market space that is growing at a significant rate (around 18% per annum).

Commercialisation of the SIEN-NET platform represents a high-value-asset for Sienna.

There are two market channels that Sienna will follow to commercialise EXO-NET:

• Research Use Application – On the back of significant evidence of demand from researchers for an exosome capture tool, Sienna is finalising the production of an EXO-NET kit for sale to research organisations in Australia and the United States. The company intends to leverage the rapid growth in the exosome research space by initiating a number of pilot research projects with appropriate collaborators to validate the utility of EXO-NET. Combined with the appointment of appropriate distributors, Sienna believes that EXO-NET will successfully penetrate the exosome research market worldwide with a particular emphasis on the United States.
• Commercial Use Applications – Sienna, in conjunction with licensees and/or collaborators, will use SIEN-NET, or a customised version of the platform (such as EXO-NET), to develop and commercialise new diagnostic tests and therapeutics. The company recently announced two Australian collaborations using this approach – with Minomic International for the development of a novel liquid biopsy diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer, and with Vivazome for the development of an exosome-based therapy to treat Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI). Both projects have the potential to deliver significant value through licensing revenues, including possible upfront and milestone payments, in areas where there is a need for urgent medical innovation. Sienna is actively engaged with a number of other potential collaborators seeking to utilise SIEN-NET or EXO-NET in the development of their novel diagnostics tests and therapies and we expect to announce further collaborations in the near future.