Dutch company receives €20 million for skin cancer diagnostic test

The test can accurately predict the risk of having metastases present in the lymph nodes without having to undergo surgery to remove lymph nodes.

This melanoma test was discovered by a renowned US hospital and further optimized and developed by SkylineDx. Based on the unique combination of genetic information from the primary melanoma cells and other patient and tumour characteristics, the test can accurately predict the risk of having metastases present in the lymph nodes without having to undergo surgery to remove (part of the) lymph nodes. Expert physicians estimate that up to 80% of these biopsies could be safely avoided as they turn out to have no sign of cancerous cells.

"This capital commitment is a very significant call of confidence," says Dharminder Chahal, CEO SkylineDx. "With the financial requirements secured and Professor Alexander Eggermont on board as our medical advisor, we can initiate the necessary clinical studies in collaboration with expert physicians, patient associations and other stakeholders, in order to get this test from bench to bedside and reimbursed."

Professor Alexander Eggermont is the general director of cancer center Gustave Roussy in Paris and a highly respected expert physician in the melanoma space.

"It is a great feeling that our efforts are lining up, getting our dream – to improve a patient's quality of life by enabling them to benefit from personal insights at the genetic level of their disease - within reach," concludes Dharminder Chahal.