PinPoint a startup that is developing a test aiming to quickly ‘rule out’ cancer from using a blood sample has raised £1 million in funding from the Angel Investment Network.
The company is developing its test using AI/Machine Learning with an aim to rapidly ‘rule out’ or detect cancer from a simple blood sample. The company is developing the test for all cancer types and will combine information from multiple cancer biomarkers and patient information into a single test.
PinPoint has begun by developing the test to quickly triage patients with vague symptoms, and ensure patients are routed to the correct pathway improving both their experience and their time to diagnosis.
The company said “This more complete picture of the underlying cancer biology will give doctors, in primary and secondary care, a decision support tool to easily identify those patients who should be referred to specialists for cancer diagnosis.”
The investment will be used for implementation trials starting mid-2020. It will also include R&D on improved versions of the product, an expanded full time team, regulatory compliance, the purchase of new equipment and the development of new products. Leeds-based PinPoint was formed in 2018 and now has a team of nine working full time.
Giles Tully, CEO “These funds will help our ambition of enabling doctors to make better, smarter and more efficient decisions. In 2018, over two million patients who presented with vague symptoms were sent for testing to check for cancer. 92.6% of those patients did not have cancer and yet still had to undergo invasive diagnosis at a huge cost to the NHS and great concern for the patients. PinPoint has already achieved nearly 25% rule out. Last year this would have given over 500,000 patients peace of mind in a few days and saved the NHS over £150m. Our technology will save lives, improve patient experience and significantly reduce costs.”
Sam Louis, Head of Consultancy at AIN, who led the fundraise “This is one of the most exciting businesses we have worked with in recent years. Like all the best startups they have developed a solution to a very real problem. In this case it’s a problem that’s very close to home for a great number of people. We were delighted we were the only organisation they worked with to raise the funds. It was really encouraging the investors we sourced were aligned with their vision.”
