Harmonia Genomics Unveils Multi-Cancer Early Detection Breakthrough at Shanghai International Biomedical Industry Week
On October 12, 2021, during the inaugural “Shanghai International Biopharmaceutical Industry Week (IBIWS),” Berry Oncology, as a representative enterprise in the global genetic testing industry and the cancer early screening sector, was invited to attend the “2021 Future Medical Industry Summit,” one of the key events of the Industry Week hosted by E Fund Management Co., Ltd., China’s largest public mutual fund management company. At the summit, Zhou Jun, CEO of Berry Oncology, delivered a keynote speech titled “Technological Breakthroughs in the Underlying Innovations of Cancer Early Screening: Building a Chinese Early Screening Solution from One to Multiple Cancers,” and released the latest research findings on multi-cancer early screening.
Leveraging the superior performance and versatility of its HIFI platform-based underlying technology, Berry Oncology has taken another solid step from “one to many,” following its groundbreaking “zero-to-one” breakthrough in early liver cancer screening. A single test now enables early screening for six major high-risk cancers prevalent in China, with all performance metrics meeting or exceeding international advanced standards.
The 2021 Shanghai International Biopharma Industry Week attracted top scholars, investment institutions, and leading enterprises from both China and abroad to comprehensively interpret frontier development trends in biomedicine and engage in in-depth discussions on the industry’s development direction and key sectors. As a representative enterprise in a key sector of the global biopharmaceutical industry, Berry Oncology was invited to attend and deliver a speech. This not only signifies the growing international influence of domestic companies in this field but also demonstrates that their innovative achievements are capable of becoming focal points of international attention.
Leveraging Berry Oncology’s proprietary HIFI platform technology, a single test enables early screening for six major high-risk cancers prevalent in China—liver cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer. The overall sensitivity of the test reaches 87.6%, with a specificity of 99.1% and an overall tissue-of-origin accuracy of 82%, placing its performance at an internationally advanced level.
Zhou Jun stated: “In this multi-cancer early screening study, Berry Oncology specifically selected lung cancer and gastrointestinal tumors as the breakthrough points, precisely because they are the cancers posing the greatest threat in terms of incidence and mortality in China. This also reflects that, from the initial design phase of its multi-cancer early screening products, Berry Oncology fully considered the cancer incidence characteristics of the Chinese population and the most urgent needs for early screening.”
Berry Oncology’s HIFI, a Platform-Based Core Technology, Delivers Superior Testing Performance
The advanced nature of these research findings is further demonstrated by the higher proportion of early-stage patients covered: Stage I and II patients accounted for 73% of the total sample cohort. In the detection of Stage I and II samples, sensitivities reached 69.6% and 92.9%, respectively, with performance significantly superior to the data models of leading international early-screening companies.
Berry Oncology’s Multi-Cancer Early Screening Covers More Patients with Early-Stage Cancer
Notably, in the detection of pancreatic cancer, which is highly challenging and exhibits the highest degree of malignancy, the superior performance of Berry Oncology’s early screening technology has been further validated, with both sensitivity and specificity exceeding 90% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.975.
Berry Oncology’s Early Screening Technology Demonstrates Excellent Performance in Pancreatic Cancer Detection
As the most cost-effective and efficient strategy for the prevention and control of malignant tumors, early screening has demonstrated its significance and value in several countries worldwide for specific cancer types. However, for a broader range of cancers, existing screening methods largely fail to meet the performance requirements for early detection, creating an urgent need for innovative technologies to fill this gap and overcome current bottlenecks.
In recent years, liquid biopsy technologies based on genetic testing have witnessed rapid advancements, enabling the precise detection and widespread application of a more diverse array of ultra-trace biomarkers. Leading enterprises in the cancer early screening sector, both domestically and internationally—including Berry Oncology—have reached a consensus on their technological development direction: multi-omics biomarker detection based on liquid biopsy technology.
As one of the first domestic companies to strategically position itself in early cancer screening, Berry Oncology has independently developed HIFI, a platform-based foundational technology based on liquid biopsy, and pioneered its application in the early screening of liver and lung cancers.Zhou Jun stated:“Product development should not only adapt to trends but also be tailored to local conditions. In light of China’s national context, it is imperative to develop cancer early screening products that are urgently needed by the general public; as a domestic enterprise, we bear an unshirkable responsibility.”
Berry Oncology CEO Zhou Jun Delivers Keynote Address
In this presentation, Zhou Jun introduced how Berry Oncology first achieved its “zero-to-one” breakthrough through the PreCar project. The HIFI technology has not only been incorporated into the Expert Consensus on Early Screening Strategies for Liver Cancer in China and entered clinical application, but its liver cancer early screening product, Laishining, has also completed multi-dimensional exploration on the path to industrialization. Subsequently, the versatility of the HIFI technology was further demonstrated in early lung cancer screening. At the 2021 CSCO Annual Meeting, Berry Oncology announced the results of its pilot study on early lung cancer screening. In a sample cohort more representative of Chinese patients—with 80.9% at Stage I lung cancer and 89.9% with lung adenocarcinoma—the HIFI technology achieved excellent performance, validated by an AUC of 0.912. This marked Berry Oncology’s successful initial foray from “one to many.”
Through this multi-cancer early screening study, Berry Oncology has taken a more solid step in expanding “from one to many.” “In the future, Berry Oncology will continue to adhere to the product development logic of ‘algorithm-centric, data-driven, and self-iterative’ for cancer early screening, delivering Chinese early screening solutions for a broader range of cancer types. We will remain committed to our corporate mission of ‘achieving early diagnosis and treatment for all cancers and ensuring precision therapy for all patients,’ striving to enhance the health and well-being of more people in China.”Zhou Jun stated.
Driven by the dual forces of population aging and economic growth, China’s future demand for pharmaceutical products and services will surge. After years of development, China has basically established a technological system for innovative research and development in biomedicine, achieving breakthroughs in a series of key technologies, particularly in the field of early cancer screening. Following the Fifth Plenary Session, self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology have become strategic pillars of national development. As the gap between China’s overall biomedical industry and that of developed countries in Europe and America narrows significantly, domestic enterprises with independent innovation capabilities will be the main force driving technological innovation and achieving substantial progress. While continuously enhancing its core innovative capabilities, Berry Oncology bears an unshirkable responsibility in promoting early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In the future, it will undoubtedly demonstrate its hard power in realizing the long-term strategic goals of building a Healthy China and a leading nation in science and technology.