CEO LETTER SCIBASE:
Nevisense View - a new product with great potential
Just before Christmas last year, we shipped the first Nevisense View from our office. Nevisense View is our new device for early detection of malignant melanoma, which we began to develop in early 2016. Nevisense View was born out of customer demand to have a version of Nevisense that also included the ability to manage images. As CEO, it is with great pride I can see what the organization and its employees succeeded with in such a short time.
Releasing a new medical device requires teamwork and a broad set of competences especially as we are working within a very demanding regulatory environment. Developing Nevisense View also required a more powerful Nevisense platform. So not only are we releasing Nevisense View, but we are releasing an updated and improved version of Nevisense offering many new features.
Why one more product?
The idea behind Nevisense View is simple: we combine our Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) method, which is a relatively new method, with clinical image documentation, an established diagnostic approach.
Nevisense View provides the opportunity to import standard and dermoscopic images of suspect lesions into Nevisense and store those images along with patient data and the lesion’s EIS evaluation - in one and the same place. That means a simple and straight-forward way to create complete documentation of lesions, and to follow the difficult-to-diagnose lesions over time. With Nevisense more clinical capabilities are added and there is also an opportunity for a more streamlined workflow.
The benefits of Nevisense and the EIS method are now well documented. Studies show that besides help reducing unnecessary excisions[1], Nevisense can help physicians to detect melanoma at an earlier stage[2].
There are also major efficiency gains for Dermatology clinics. New Nevisense clinical data was presented for the first time at the World Congress of Cancer of the Skin in Vienna in September last year. The study2 was based around using Nevisense in parallel with short term digital dermoscopy (SDDI, i.e. the use of dermoscopic imaging to follow the development of a specific lesion over time). Utilizing this protocol many lesions could be classified as harmless at the first examination, while those lesions where Nevisense indicated a higher risk for melanoma could be surgically removed immediately, rather than waiting 3-6 months as is the normal process for these types of lesion. This approach detected 83% of melanomas earlier while reducing the need for performing SDDI by nearly 50%. Lowering cost levels is a crucial priority within healthcare today and these results combining Nevisense with imaging illustrate good potential for significant labour and cost savings.
As mentioned above, Nevisense View can be a valuable and effective tool for dermatologists. The EIS measurement is the foundation of both Nevisense and Nevisense View and can not only reduce the need for SDDI but also reduce a number of unnecessary excisions. According to an article[3] by Johan Heilborn, former chief physician at the dermatology clinic at the Karolinska Institute, 150,000 nevi are being excised in order to capture 3,500 invasive melanoma at an estimated annual cost of SEK 300 million. If this is the cost level in Sweden, it can be interesting to reflect on the cost savings that might be made in other countries such as Germany and the US; markets with great potential for SciBase.
SciBase to co-operate with DermoScan
Earlier this week you may have seen the news that SciBase has started a co-operation with DermoScan, a supplier of digital dermoscopy systems from Germany. The agreement means that patient and Nevisense EIS information can be shared between Nevisense and DermoScan’s system, DermoGenius Ultra.
Like Nevisense View, the combination of EIS with patient information and images adds value for clinicians – both diagnostically, but also when it comes to patient flow. We now have the possibility to reach out to hundreds of clinics that already have a digital dermoscopy system and may wish to add Nevisense in a fully integrated fashion. We are opening up a new world of opportunities for Nevisense.
The launch of Nevisense View is thereby not only a celebration of a new product, it also represents a direction where we combine with and improve the well-established methods. It is therefore I look forward to an exciting 2017 for SciBase and our products.
For further information please visit www.scibase.com or contact:
Simon Grant, CEO
Tel: +46 72 887 43 99
E-mail: simon.grant@scibase.com
About Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is one of the world’s most common cancers, accounting for nearly half of all cancers. It has been estimated that nearly half of all Americans who live to the age of 65 will develop skin cancer at least once. Malignant melanoma is the most fatal form of skin cancer causing the majority (75%) of deaths related to skin cancer. Worldwide, doctors diagnose about 230,000 new cases of melanoma yearly.
About SciBase and Nevisense
SciBase AB is a Swedish medical technology company, headquartered in Stockholm that has developed a unique point-of-care device for the accurate detection of malignant melanoma. Its product, Nevisense, helps doctors to detect malignant melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. SciBase was founded by Stig Ollmar, Associate Professor at The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Nevisense is based on substantial research and has achieved excellent results in the largest clinical study ever conducted on the detection of malignant melanoma. Nevisense is CE marked in Europe, has TGA approval in Australia, and is awaiting FDA clearance in the United States. Nevisense is based on a method called Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), which uses the varying electrical properties of human tissue to categorize cellular structures and thereby detect malignancies. SciBase is listed on Nasdaq First North (“SCIB”). Avanza is the certified advisor. Further information is available on www.scibase.com.
[1] Clinical performance of the Nevisense system in cutaneous melanoma detection: an international, multi-centre, prospective and blinded clinical trial on efficacy and safety. Malvehy J, Hauschild A, Curiel- Lewandrowski C, et al. Br J Dermatol. 2014;171:1099-1107”
[2] Analysis of an electrical impedance spectroscopy system in short-term digital dermoscopy imaging of melanocytic lesions”,
Rocha L, Guitera P, Khoury R, Avramidis M, Lo S, and Menzies SW, Posters presented at the 16th World Congress on Cancers of the Skin, Vienna, Aug 31th- Sep 3th, 2016
[3] ”Dermatoskopi vid pigmenterade lesioner – var står vi idag?” Johan Heilborn, MD, PhD, Överläkare Tumörsektionen, Hudkliniken Karolinska, Svensk Dermatologi och Venerologi. No.1 :2015
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