Singaporean cancer diagnostics start-up eyes China, home to a third of the world’s deaths from the disease

Early detection will deliver ‘major clinical and socioeconomic benefits’ to China’s rapidly ageing populations, says MiRXES boss Lihan Zhou

MiRXES, a spin-off of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, is developing screening tests for lung, colorectal, liver, and breast cancer

Reading Time:2 minutes

The company launched GASTROClear, its micro RNA blood test for the early detection of gastric cancer, in 2019 . Photo: SCMP Handout

Published: 3:00pm, 8 Aug 2021Updated: 10:30pm, 8 Aug 2021

A Singaporean medical start-up that uses blood tests to detect six major cancers in their early stages aims to access the market in China, which accounts for almost a third of the world’s deaths from the disease.

MiRXES, a spin-off of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, is developing screening tests for lung, colorectal, liver, and breast cancer, said the company’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Lihan Zhou.

The company launched GASTROClear, its micro RNA blood test for the early detection of gastric cancer, in 2019 and set up manufacturing facilities and clinical labs in China in the same year in preparation to commercialise the product there.

Founded in 2014, MiRXES also has a manufacturing base in Singapore.

“The plan was largely disrupted by Covid,” said Zhou. The company spent most of its time supporting the Singaporean authorities with coronavirus testing last year, using its jointly developed multi-virus test kit that can detect both Covid-19 and the seasonal flu.

Zhou said the company is now ready to focus on its cancer diagnostics and the commercialisation of its product in China and other Asian countries such as Singapore and Japan. “We are accelerating regulatory approval and adoption of GASTROClear in China,” he said.