Hong Kong’s Phase Scientific International (PSI) has raised US$34 million from private investors to further develop a non-invasive test for human papillomavirus (HPV), a major cause of cervical cancer.
Founder and CEO Ricky Chiu Yin-to said the company aimed to commercialise a home collection kit after the completion of a large-scale clinical study next year, which was expected to confirm favourable results the test had obtained so far.
“The market potential is huge because urine sampling is non-invasive and easy to do, which will help raise the compliance rate on regular testing,” he said.
PSI had overcome technical barriers for using urine as a medical sampling medium through a patented technology that concentrates and purifies urine samples, Chiu said.
