Still waiting on an announcement but saw this in today's press. Hope this isn't the big news I have been hearing is imminent as does not say anything new!!!!
Hair test for cancer looms Teresa Ooi July 05, 2007
MEDICAL company Fermiscan hopes to roll out the world's first hair screening test for breast cancer by early next year, managing director David Young says. This will depend on the results of Fermiscan's 2000-patient trial in Australia, which will be completed in two months.
The test was developed by Australian scientist Veronica James, who discovered that hair could be used to diagnose breast cancer, using cutting-edge synchrotron X-ray technology.
Hair from women with breast cancer has a different cell structure to hair from women not suffering the disease.
A mammogram is the conventional but more invasive method of detecting breast cancer.
"The major milestone for Fermiscan will depend on the results of our 2000-patient trial in Australia," Mr Young said.
"Results of the Fermiscan test will be compared to the mammogram results. If the results show a 95 per cent accuracy, then our hair test would be far more accurate in diagnosing breast cancer than what we have on the market today," Mr Young said.
For the past six months the company has been conducting a trial of 2000 women who had been referred to have mammograms to find out if they suffered from breast cancer.
The women, mostly in their 40s, also had 10 hairs cut from as close to their scalp as possible. About 1650 hair samples have been collected and sent to Chicago to be tested for breast cancer.
Mr Young agreed that the results of its trial could "make or break" the company.
"Depending on the success of the trial, we will be able to commercially roll out the hair test for breast cancer by the end of the year or early next year," he said.
The hair test costs $249, which includes a visit to a pathology laboratory for the hair to be collected and sent overseas to be tested.
Fermiscan has forecast that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 500,000 tests would be $61 million.
"There is a huge global market for the hair test based on an estimated 100 million mammograms conducted annually and a target global market of 300 million women," Mr Young said.
Fermiscan already has an agreement with merchant banking group Crosby Capital Partners to enter the Japanese market.
A feasibility study is being carried out in Japan.
Mr Young said that Japan conducted about 14 million mammograms a year and about 42 million women were likely to use the hair breast-cancer test.
The company has also signed a licence deal with Singapore-based Avia Reed International to market the hair test in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
Under the deal, Fermiscan would get a fee for every test carried out and receive 50 per cent of the profit.
The licence deal is dependent on the results of the company's trial in Australia.
The company has also started negotiations to launch trials in the US and Italy.
Fermiscan was founded by investment banker Leon Carr and lawyer Richard Toltz, who together have a stake of more than 50 per cent in the company.
The company joined the stock exchange through a backdoor listing in October last year and has a market capitalisation of about $380 million.
Fermiscan shares fell 3c to $1.95 yesterday.
FER Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
