Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SCMS (ScreenCancer Mole Scanner - Easily accessible mole scanning service for early detection of skin cancer.)
Berichtszeitraum: 2019-08-01 bis 2019-11-30
ScreenCancer AS is a Norwegian company that is bringing about a disruption in the cancer screening and diagnostic industry. Founded in Bergen in 2007 with the mission of saving lives by enabling detection of skin cancer at an early and curable stage, ScreenCancer aims to become a world leading provider of skin cancer diagnostic tools, through continuous application of ground-breaking technologies and novel distribution models. With this purpose in mind, the company started developing the ScreenCancer Mole Scanner (SCMS), a non – invasive diagnostic platform, driven by Artificial Intelligence, which enables early diagnosis of skin cancer through a quick and simple scan of a skin lesion. SCMS is distributed through pharmacies, providing an easy-to-access, fast and accurate diagnostic tool to the general population. The ScreenCancer team is currently focused on optimizing the SCMS platform and validating it through clinical trials. The key objectives of development are to upgrade the device hardware and optimize the software diagnostic capability; and to validate the device in clinical settings through the collaboration of hospitals and dermatology clinics in Europe. This will enable the Company to obtain CE mark certification as a diagnostic device for commercialization in Europe.
During the feasibility assessment, ScreenCancer defined the users’ requirements for the SCMS platform and outlined the next phase of the development plan, defining all the optimization and validation activities. The Company scouted for key stakeholders to support in the clinical validation stage. ScreenCancer identified the target market segments and opportunities, defined the Total and Serviceable Addressable markets and established the commercialisation strategy. The Phase 1 feasibility assessment showed a compelling opportunity for the SCMS project, validating its technical and commercial viability. The EIC Accelerator Phase 2 funding will provide an important source of non-dilutive funding to complete the planned activities.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, representing one third of all cancers diagnosed. The incidence of skin cancer in the coming years is projected to dramatically increase, due to the ageing population and, above all, to unavoidable environmental factors. Skin cancer has been directly correlated to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, which is a consequence of the depletion of the O-zone layer, a thin part of the earth’s atmosphere that absorbs all the harmful radiations from the sun. The O-zone layer is expected to deplete over the next 1-2 decade, strongly exposing the global population to harmful levels of UVR. If caught early, skin cancer is a curable disease; however, its aggressive nature can turn it into a life-threatening disease in just six weeks. Late diagnosis of skin cancer is currently causing an economic burden exceeding €2.8B in Europe. Nowadays it’s clear that primary prevention, such as attempts to educate the population about the link between UVR and skin cancer, is not the only instrument to reduce the burden of skin cancer. Enabling early detection of skin cancer is therefore becoming a priority. Although initiatives and campaigns to promote skin cancer prevention are continuously undertaken, participation levels are extremely low, also due to the poor availability of easy-to-approach screening services. In this landscape, ScreenCancers’ unique technology and distribution model through pharmacies has the potential to act as a key enabler of early diagnosis of skin cancer. As a fast and reliable service, easily accessible to all, SCMS will enable population-wide screening services for early detection of skin cancer, contributing to reduce the economic burden and save millions of lives.