Immunovia advances strategic collaboration with primary care physicians in the US to build awareness of the importance of early detection of pancreatic cancer
LUND, SWEDEN - Immunovia AB (publ.) (“Immunovia”) today announced its continued commitment to its strategic initiative of collaborating with primary care physicians (PCPs) in the US that are united in their goal of detecting pancreatic cancer early. This initiative began in 2018 with Immunovia’s educational program for PCPs at Fenway Park on World Pancreatic Cancer Day. The program highlighted the important role that primary care physicians can play in detecting pancreatic adenocarcinoma early in patients.
In early March of this year, Immunovia held a primary care advisory board meeting with four distinguished PCPs practicing in the Boston area. The goal of this meeting was to discuss and identify the best methods for educating PCPs about the risk factors for pancreatic cancer and about the IMMray™ PanCan-d test. The feedback from the PCP advisors’ was very valuable and is now being incorporated into Immunovia’s educational strategies going forward, and will also be presented at Immunovia’s exhibit booth at the American College of Physicians’ Internal Medicine Meeting, April 11-13, 2019 in Philadelphia.
The advisory board meeting also confirmed that PCPs remain largely unaware of the connection between new onset diabetes after age 50 and pancreatic cancer. It was agreed that this is an important educational element for identifying patients at higher risk for developing pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Jeffrey Gorodetsky from Winchester Physician Associates stated, “As a Family Physician for over 28 years, I was both honored and excited to be part of Immunovia’s pancreatic cancer PCP advisory board, especially after having lost my mother to pancreatic cancer 10 years ago. With screening tests for pancreatic cancer on the horizon, which will improve the outcomes for patients with this terrible condition, it is especially important to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and the importance of early detection among primary care physicians.”
Mats Grahn, CEO Immunovia added: “Educating PCPs on the importance of considering pancreatic cancer with the onset of early symptoms will have a huge impact on treating the disease. Immunovia looks forward to further collaborations with primary care experts, aligning our strategies to best meet PCP’s educational and clinical needs. We strongly believe this give the best opportunity for Immunovia’s IMMray™ PanCan-d test to improve patient outcomes”.
For more information, please contact:
Julie Silber
Director of Investor Relations
Email: julie.silber@immunovia.com
Tel: +46 7 93 486 277
About Immunovia
Immunovia AB was founded in 2007 by investigators from the Department of Immunotechnology at Lund University and CREATE Health, the Center for Translational Cancer Research in Lund, Sweden. Immunovia’s strategy is to decipher the wealth of information in blood and translate it into clinically useful tools to diagnose complex diseases such as cancer, earlier and more accurately than previously possible. Immunovia´s core technology platform, IMMray™, is based on antibody biomarker microarray analysis. The company is now performing clinical validation studies for the commercialization of IMMray™ PanCan-d that could be the first blood based test for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In the beginning of 2016, the company started a program focused on autoimmune diseases diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring. (Source: www.immunovia.com)
Immunovia’s shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.immunovia.com.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadly and difficult to detect cancers, as the signs and symptoms are diffuse and similar to other diseases. There are more than 40,000 deaths and over 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone, and the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is currently 5-8 %. It is predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2020. However, because resection is more successful in stage I/II, early diagnosis can significantly improve pancreatic cancer patients’ 5-year survival rates from 5-8 % to up to 49%.
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