EDP BioTech coming out of stealth mode, holding special event March 21
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
A Knoxville company that has spent years focused on the early detection of colorectal cancer through blood testing is holding an event later this month to spotlight the issue as well as the upcoming rollout of its first product.
“We’re coming out of stealth mode as we get ready to launch our initial product – the ColoPlexTM – in Europe by the end of the year,” Eric Mayer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EDP BioTech Corporation, told us. “Not a lot of people outside the tech community locally are aware of us, and this is an opportunity to change that.”
The event is March 21, and those interested in receiving an invitation should send an email to info@edpbiotech.com or visit their EventBrite page
“We’ve had a long road in R&D,” Mayer said. He joined the company, founded by Tom Boyd, as its Vice President of Business Development in early 2013, was named Interim CEO in June 2015, and later had the interim title removed.
As noted in a series of articles posted in recent years on teknovation.biz, EDP BioTech has been focused on developing a first-in-class, easy-to-use, accurate and cost-effective early test for colon cancer, the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. annually. If the cancer is detected and treated early, the survival rate is about 90 percent after five years.
About a year ago, the company made what Mayer characterized at the time as “a pretty big pivot. We’re building a new product and going after a faster path to market in a slightly different (part of the colon cancer screening) market segment, using state-of-the-art data science to solve a complex biologic problem.”
The March 21 reception is also an opportunity for EDP BioTech to bring more attention to the disease and early detection during “National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.” There will be a cocktail hour and educational presentations during the event from physicians, survivors and EDP team members.
Mayer says that EDP BioTech unveiled its new Facebook and Instagram page in conjunction with the March 1 “National Dress in Blue Day” which is designed to increase awareness of colon cancer and early detection.
“More than 1,500 people viewed our Facebook page that day,” he noted, leading an initiative with many local partners, and several of their international collaborators, posting photographs of themselves dressed in blue.
Like what you've read?
Forward to a friend!