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One in four dogs will develop cancer in their lifetime, and half of dogs over the age of 10 will be victims of the disease. But dog owners, bolstered by data gleaned from Raleigh-based Animal Cancer Dx’s non-invasive early detection tests for the four most common types of cancer that affect man’s best friend, are worried. is not necesary to.
Currently, the Animal Cancer Dx team is working on Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) cancer screening for dog owners and AI solutions for boring scientific practices. But for his Chan Namgong, the founder of women’s clothing brand bevello, or better known by name as the former COO of Raleigh-based Johnson Automotive, the choice to tackle the problem of non-invasive screening is a very big deal. based on personal experience.
Five years ago, Namgon’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite having no scientific background, Namgong began looking into her latest cancer research. When a friend of his sent him a Japanese manuscript describing the discovery that cancer could be detected in the urine of human patients, it was like a light bulb went out.
Namgong contacted his friend, a veterinarian, to test dog urine samples from a veterinary clinic in a West Coast laboratory. Promising evidence that this research could eventually be translated to humans put Nam Gong, a veteran businessman, at a crossroads.
“They came back with promising results, so I thought, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ What should I do?” said Namgon. “I didn’t have a scientific background, so I had to decide whether or not to pursue it. I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to have any regrets in life. rice field”
Fast forward to 2022 and Animal Cancer Dx has won both NC IDEA SEED and MICRO grants, plus a $100,000 grant from the NC Biotech Center. The company’s technology is used in more than 30 of his veterinary clinics and hospitals within the Triangle, and Namgong holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business and is a published scientific author.
From closing Bevero clothing store just a few years ago to co-founding two successful startups, including HomeCloud, which we wrote about in September 2021, Namgong might be considered a career change by many. I have accomplished the impossible.
Animal Cancer Dx’s success will depend on its ability to make testing affordable, reliable and accessible, Namgong said. Tests from the company’s competitors cost up to $1,000, more than many pet owners’ prices.
With screening tests ranging from $99 to $199, Animal Cancer Dx is a much more viable option for most pet owners, giving them peace of mind to have their pets screened for cancer annually.
“Everything is relative,” said Namgon. “If a dog owner is spending $100 on her dog’s Halloween costume, $200 is very affordable for him to test for a very common disease that could save a dog’s life. ”
Migration to DTC channel
The accessibility created by the low-cost urine collection test gives Animal Cancer Dx a direct-to-consumer selling opportunity that competitors do not have. No dog owner has the tools to safely collect blood from their pet, but most dog owners are able to collect urine, especially following the instructions provided with the Animal Cancer Dx test. Once the urine is collected, the dog owner freezes it for testing by a veterinarian or sends it to an Animal Cancer Dx lab partner.
Namgong wants to be completely clear. He knows that veterinarians are vital to the distribution and trust of his products, and is confident that as Animal Cancer Dx turns to e-commerce, veterinarians will not be marginalized or left behind. doing. But e-commerce opens up a whole new world in early detection of cancer in animals, and thus in potentially life-saving early intervention.
“Some pet owners don’t have a hospital nearby, so we want to make testing as accessible as possible for pet owners,” Namgong said. “We want to build an e-commerce website where pet owners can order test kits with all the tools they need (paper trays, pipettes, frozen reagents to send back). You can send it back to us. Then we can analyze the urine and send the results back to them.”
The Animal Cancer Dx team is committed to more than just making canine cancer detection as accessible and affordable as 23-and-Me.
Alongside fellow IDEA grant recipient Vitality Robotics, Animal Cancer Dx is working on artificial intelligence solutions that save scientists time for counting cancer-detecting worms on agar plates. . This is a task that would take several hours today.
“Counting these worms day after day is very mentally taxing,” said Namgon. “Believe it or not, big pharmaceutical companies like Merck and Pfizer have scientists with PhDs behind computers that are counting these worms and bacteria on agar plates. I thought we needed software that could be automated, and there isn’t.”
With continued development of the worm counting software and the expectation of DTC sales by the end of 2023, Animal Cancer Dx is looking forward to a big year. With his company’s early detection helping more dogs achieve better cancer treatment outcomes, Namgong wishes our furry friends a better year too.
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