AOA Dx
Blood Test for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
AOA Dx Inc has partnered with a leading researcher at McGill University to develop the first early stage ovarian cancer liquid biopsy diagnostic test. The co-founders have worked together at two previous startups in the women’s health space, both resulting in successful exits upon commercialization. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological disease because there is no accurate testing method and therefore its symptoms are continuously mistaken for benign conditions, making it incredibly difficult to diagnose the disease in the early stages. The team has previously raised a $7M Seed round and completed a 500+ retrospective patient study showing excellent sensitivity and specificity. Ovarian cancer is just the beginning. AOA has a platform of novel ganglioside tumor markers to disrupt early cancer detection.
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Active Founders
Selected answers from AOA Dx's original YC application for the S21 Batch
Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.
Revolution in Ovarian Cancer
How long have each of you been working on this? How much of that has been full-time? Please explain.
We have been working on this project for 2 years. After the exit of last startup we were working on, we started a search for a new technology that would make a big impact on women's health. After evaluating over 20 technologies from different countries, we partnered with Prof. Uri Saragovi from McGill University. He discovered a novel way for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Oriana, the CEO has been full time working on this project since Sept 2019, with the other two co-founders joining full time in October 2020.
What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.
AOA seeks to revolutionize early-stage diagnosis of ovarian cancer by developing a non-invasive ovarian cancer liquid biopsy diagnostic test that will improve clinical practice by diagnosing ovarian cancer early. Early diagnosis will reduce patient mortality and deliver cost savings to payers.
Due to non-specific symptoms, 80% of cases are diagnosed too late (stage III and IV) resulting in a five-year survival rate of only 28%. Current diagnostic methods are inadequate, lacking sensitivity and/or specificity, particularly during stages I and II. Women diagnosed early have a five-year survival rate of 90%. There is an urgent need to accurately diagnose women earlier to give them a fighting chance at survival. Our blood test is designed to do just that.