REG - Kromek Group PLC - Kromek awarded c. £2.5m by Innovate UK

KromekAnnouncement

31/01/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 3292O  Kromek Group PLC  31 January 2023

31 January 2023

Kromek Group plc

("Kromek" or the "Group")

 

Kromek Awarded Funding for c. £2.5m Breast Cancer Screening Solution
Developments

Innovate UK provides funds for two projects to advance low-dose molecular
breast imaging solution

Kromek (AIM: KMK), a leading developer of radiation and bio-detection
technology solutions for the advanced imaging and CBRN detection segments,
announces that it has been awarded funding from the UK's innovation agency,
Innovate UK, for two research programmes to further develop a low-dose
molecular breast imaging ("MBI") technology based on Kromek's CZT-based SPECT
detectors.

 

The first project is designed to prove the feasibility of using a single
photon detector for ultra-low-dose MBI. This 18-month project, worth £0.5m,
is to be carried out solely by Kromek. The second project, worth £2.0m, is a
three-year programme to obtain and deliver clinical data on a low-dose MBI
system. It is being conducted in partnership with Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ("Newcastle Hospitals"), the University of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne and University College London.

 

These two projects represent further commitments by Innovate UK and the
partners to develop a low-dose MBI solution, and follow the successful outcome
of a previous Innovate UK-funded project conducted by Kromek and Newcastle
Hospitals to develop a faster, low-radiation dose MBI technology.

 

Traditional mammography is often less able to clearly image tumours due to the
density of the breast tissue. MBI uses a radioactive tracer that 'lights up'
areas of cancer in the breast and is effective even in dense breast tissue -
which is prevalent in people who are at higher risk of cancer.

 

However, MBI currently involves a much greater exposure to radiation than
mammograms. Kromek and the other partners are developing a solution that,
based on the Group's CZT-based SPECT detector technology, uses low-dose MBI -
to provide effective cancer detection with lower radiation exposure. CZT
creates much clearer images and requires far lower radiation doses to do so,
than comparable detectors, enabling the solution to deliver eight times less
radiation than existing MBI technology.

 

Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek Group, said: "Current routine breast screening does
not meet everyone's needs because of its shortcomings in detecting cancers in
dense breast tissue, a particular concern for younger women. Low-dose
molecular breast imaging, which solves this, has the capacity to save
thousands more lives, detecting cancers earlier, before they have time to
spread. This helps not only the patient, but also the public health
authorities who can provide the right treatment earlier and, ultimately, more
cost effectively. This additional funding from Innovate UK will allow us and
our partners to collate the data needed to progress to clinical tests and then
deployment. We look forward to working with our partners to complete the
programme."

 

Dr Nerys Forester, Consultant Breast Radiologist at Newcastle Hospitals,
added: "Breast cancer screening is a vital part of detecting cancer early
when tumours are often too small to see and saves thousands of lives in the UK
each year. For women with dense breast tissue, cancer can be more difficult to
detect and diagnose through routine mammograms because it is harder to see
abnormal changes in the breast on imaging. We are delighted to be leading the
next phase of testing low-dose MBI, working closely with Kromek and University
College London. In future, we hope this technology could help us to identify
breast cancer in women with dense breasts at an earlier stage and save more
lives."

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Kromek Group plc
 Arnab Basu, CEO                                         +44 (0)1740 626 060

 Paul Farquhar, CFO

 finnCap Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Broker)               
 Geoff Nash/Seamus Fricker/George Dollemore/Emily Watts  +44 (0)20 7220 0500

 - Corporate Finance

 Tim Redfern/Charlotte Sutcliffe - ECM

 Gracechurch Group (Financial PR)
 Harry Chathli/Claire Norbury                            +44 (0)20 4582 3500

Kromek Group plc

 

Kromek Group plc is a leading developer of radiation detection and
bio-detection technology solutions for the advanced imaging and CBRN detection
segments. Headquartered in County Durham, UK, Kromek has manufacturing
operations in the UK and US, delivering on the vision of enhancing the quality
of life through innovative detection technology solutions.

 

The advanced imaging segment comprises the medical (including CT and SPECT),
security and industrial markets. Kromek provides its OEM customers with
detector components, based on its core cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) platform,
to enable better detection of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's,
contamination in industrial manufacture and explosives in aviation
settings.

 

In CBRN detection, the Group provides nuclear radiation detection solutions to
the global homeland defence and security market. Kromek's compact, handheld,
high-performance radiation detectors, based on advanced scintillation
technology, are primarily used to protect critical infrastructure and urban
environments from the threat of 'dirty bombs'.

 

The Group is also developing bio-security solutions in the CBRN detection
segment. These consist of fully automated and autonomous systems to detect a
wide range of airborne pathogens.

 

Kromek is listed on AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange, under the
trading symbol 'KMK'.

 

Further information is available at www.kromek.com (http://www.kromek.com/)
.

 

 

 

 

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