Saving lives with early diagnoses
Sara Ramió, the technical director of this startup, believes that the technological aspect at a research company like GoodGut is extremely important. “A small company like ours must work in a very cost-efficient manner, for example, by screening large numbers of samples automatically,” Ramió says. “To achieve this, we use QIASymphony, which can process up to 500 qPCR samples per day. To prepare the samples, we use the QIAGEN Multiplex PCR Kit because of its high sensitivity to detect even the smallest amounts of DNA. Our samples may contain less than 10 micrograms of the bacterial DNA we want to detect. The QIAGEN Multiplex Kit also has the advantage of simultaneously displaying different biomarkers and quantify them. For DNA extraction, we use the DNeasy PowerSoil Kit* which, to me, is the best extraction kit on the market since it allows us to obtained a good yield for both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. We also use the QuantiNova Kit with excellent results,” says Ramió enthusiastically. Serra adds: “Our screening test is 98% sensitive, and 92% specific, compared with a sensitivity of 75% for a fecal blood test. We estimate that RAID-CRC will eliminate the need for 32% of colonoscopies and detect 59% of pre-cancerous lesions.”
We have the chance to save human lives by making accurate and early diagnoses. We can also reduce the number of unneeded intestinal biopsies, therefore preventing unnecessary diagnostic tests and potentially risky medical procedures,” says Serra. Going forward, the team at GoodGut is also looking beyond diagnostics to develop bacterial treatments in the future to avoid colorectal cancer from developing in the first place.