Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRIOP (TRIOP: an intraoperative probe to assess tumor margins and remove tumor residues in real time)
Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2024-03-31
Cancer is the second most common cause of death worldwide; in 2020, 19.3 million of new cancer incidences have been declared along with 10 million of death caused by cancer. The World Health Organization foresee 32,2 million cancer incidences in 2040.
Oncological surgery is the most efficient single treatment. However, the local cancer recurrence rate after the first surgery is still high whatever organ is considered. Local cancer recurrence is a serious adverse event, which mainly caused by tumor growth from remaining tumor residues. They have a major impact on survival, quality of life and require reinterventions and/or adjuvant treatments including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Therefore, the main issue today in oncological surgery is to ensure the resection quality while minimizing healthy tissues removal. To achieve these goals, surgeons need real time information on tumor residues’ location. To tackle this issue, Beams develops TRIOP technology, a miniaturized intraoperative probe detecting in situ β-emitting radioisotopes. After the removal of the main part of the tumor, a specfic β radiotracer is injected in the organism and fixes itself on tumor tissues. TRIOP warns the surgeon when the β particles concentration it measures corresponds to a pathological fixing. TRIOP combines this detection with surgical aspiration, to make sure the detection is clear from blood or secretions.
Beams transfers this technology from laboratory research to industrialisation. To prepare commercialisation, the greatest challenge for Beams as a company is to convince surgeons to adopt TRIOP technology as the new standard of care. To overcome this challenge, the R&D program is focused on maximizing TRIOP’s performances and surgical design, and clinical trials will be organized on different tumor types to demonstrate safety and efficacy. The growing emergence of specific radiotracers should support the use of TRIOP. Beams will strongly publish scientific articles on the obtained results and rely on early adopters to be the technology ambassadors: establishing a strong oncology network alongside Beams is one important goal for the company. From a business point of view, to favor the adoption, the pricing must be consistent with the offered benefit. To check affordability and design the more accurate business model, Beams should make a specific market research. This project is therefore focused on a preparing market access strategy.
Oncological surgery is the most efficient single treatment. However, the local cancer recurrence rate after the first surgery is still high whatever organ is considered. Local cancer recurrence is a serious adverse event, which mainly caused by tumor growth from remaining tumor residues. They have a major impact on survival, quality of life and require reinterventions and/or adjuvant treatments including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Therefore, the main issue today in oncological surgery is to ensure the resection quality while minimizing healthy tissues removal. To achieve these goals, surgeons need real time information on tumor residues’ location. To tackle this issue, Beams develops TRIOP technology, a miniaturized intraoperative probe detecting in situ β-emitting radioisotopes. After the removal of the main part of the tumor, a specfic β radiotracer is injected in the organism and fixes itself on tumor tissues. TRIOP warns the surgeon when the β particles concentration it measures corresponds to a pathological fixing. TRIOP combines this detection with surgical aspiration, to make sure the detection is clear from blood or secretions.
Beams transfers this technology from laboratory research to industrialisation. To prepare commercialisation, the greatest challenge for Beams as a company is to convince surgeons to adopt TRIOP technology as the new standard of care. To overcome this challenge, the R&D program is focused on maximizing TRIOP’s performances and surgical design, and clinical trials will be organized on different tumor types to demonstrate safety and efficacy. The growing emergence of specific radiotracers should support the use of TRIOP. Beams will strongly publish scientific articles on the obtained results and rely on early adopters to be the technology ambassadors: establishing a strong oncology network alongside Beams is one important goal for the company. From a business point of view, to favor the adoption, the pricing must be consistent with the offered benefit. To check affordability and design the more accurate business model, Beams should make a specific market research. This project is therefore focused on a preparing market access strategy.
Women Tech EU funding has helped growing the company’s BRL (Business Readiness Level) from 3 to 4-5 by performing market research, giving the first essential information to build a strong market access strategy.
Working on growing Beams’ BRL was a multipurpose project. One of the underlying goals was, in a short term, to search for new fundings, from investors, and to apply to EIC Accelerator call for proposals. The other goal was, in the long term, to ensure the company commercial success.