RCS - Oxford BioDynamics - Expansion of OBD/Bupa UK insurance partnership

Oxford BiodynamicsAnnouncement

13/03/2025 07:15

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RNS Number : 4618A  Oxford BioDynamics PLC  13 March 2025

13 March 2025

 

Oxford BioDynamics
("OBD" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

 

Bupa UK insurance to cover Oxford BioDynamics' EpiSwitch® PSE prostate
cancer test

 

·     Bupa UK insurance customers with a raised PSA level and no
additional high risk factors or symptoms will now be covered for PSE, a smart
blood test which accurately predicts the presence or absence of prostate
cancer

·     Expansion of OBD/Bupa UK insurance partnership beyond existing
coverage of CiRT significantly enhances access to PSE in the UK

·     Coverage for both OBD's PSE and CiRT(3) tests reflects Bupa's
commitment to leveraging advanced precision medicine testing to transform
cancer care

Oxford, UK - 13 March 2025 - Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD), a precision
clinical diagnostics company bringing specific and sensitive tests to the
practice of medicine based on its EpiSwitch® 3D genomics platform, and Bupa
announce an expanded strategic agreement to give its health insurance
customers access to OBD's EpiSwitch PSE
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/94percent.com/___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86OTdjOWY2ZTAwMDA2YmFiMDNmNmVlOGQ2ZTA3MzEzMjU6NjpiN2E2OjFhNTFhZGFlNmE2YmFjOTE5YTQ4ZDEwY2I3ZWYzNTQ4N2QxOWE2NzllMzMwMGMwYmNhNGE3MDU1ODFmOGIwZDY6cDpUOk4)
prostate cancer detection test. Bupa is a leading health insurer in the UK
with around 3.9m customers.

Robin Clark, Medical Director for Bupa Insurance, said: "We're pleased to
partner with Oxford BioDynamics to cover the advanced EpiSwitch PSE test. The
PSE provides a more accurate path to diagnosing prostate cancer, where getting
an early diagnosis can make the disease nearly completely survivable. Offering
the PSE and CiRT tests reflects our commitment to leverage the most advanced
precision medicine testing to provide doctors with the tools they need to make
informed decisions."

Under this new agreement, the PSE test will be funded for Bupa health
insurance customers with a raised prostate-specific antigen level and no
additional high-risk factors or urinary symptoms.

The EpiSwitch PSE is OBD's validated, rapid, highly accurate blood test for
prostate cancer (accuracy 94%, specificity 97%, sensitivity 86%)(1),
significantly boosting the accuracy of PSA alone. Crucially, the positive
predictive value (PPV) of PSE is 93%, compared to just 25% for PSA. PSA's low
PPV is one of the main arguments against using it as a population-wide
screening test. About 25% of men with a raised PSA will go on to be diagnosed
with prostate cancer. With the PSE, more than 9 out of every 10 men who
receive a positive "high likelihood" PSE will go on to have a confirmatory
biopsy(1). This level of performance can reduce the total number of men who do
not have prostate cancer being referred for unnecessary MRI scans and invasive
biopsies(2). These clinical results are supported by an accumulation of
real-world evidence related to the clinical utility.

Iain Ross, Executive Chairman of OBD, said: "Joining forces with a pioneering
healthcare insurer like Bupa ensures that more men have access to an accurate
diagnosis by using the EpiSwitch PSE test. Prostate Cancer is the most common
cancer in men in the UK, and yet there is currently no nationwide screening
programme due to limitations of current testing modalities. With its high
accuracy and PPV, EpiSwitch PSE can be integrated into existing pathways to
more precisely direct individuals toward further expensive and invasive
diagnostics and treatments. We remain focused on forging strategic
partnerships to build on this momentum and continue to drive value."

- Ends -

References

1: Pchejetski D., et al. Cancers
(2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030821
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030821___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86OTdjOWY2ZTAwMDA2YmFiMDNmNmVlOGQ2ZTA3MzEzMjU6Njo2NjYwOmIxNmM0MjRlM2VlNjZjNGNkZWU5MTczMWJhMDlhMjk3MDMyNWZiYjJkMzNiM2JkNDQyYWZjNDY2MTYxNzQxYzc6cDpUOk4)

2: Prostate Cancer Research, Landmark Report into Prostate Cancer Screening
(2024). www.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk/PFYP/
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/www.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk/PFYP/___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86OTdjOWY2ZTAwMDA2YmFiMDNmNmVlOGQ2ZTA3MzEzMjU6NjplZWYzOmM0NWZjOGNiZTgxZjRkY2E4NjQwMjdlNTFmM2JkNjY5ZGNjMjdjODQ0NmM3MzJkNmVkZTc2MWQwZjBhZWE4Y2U6cDpUOk4)

3. Oxford BioDynamics PLC (Oct 2023), Bupa UK to cover EpiSwitch® CiRT for
customers with cancer
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/oxford_biodynamics_plc/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=2040&newsid=1726458___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86OTdjOWY2ZTAwMDA2YmFiMDNmNmVlOGQ2ZTA3MzEzMjU6NjpkMWNlOjVlMzJhMTM4YTg4MzNlNjU4OTg3MGM2ZDE5MWY2YjBiMGI3ZGE3NjAzZDNiMTFhNzBlOTIzN2I4YTQyMGNiMTc6cDpUOk4)

 

For more information:

 Oxford BioDynamics PLC                                               +44 (0)1865 518910

 Iain Ross Executive Chairman

 Paul Stockdale, CFO

 Shore Capital - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker                   +44 (0)20 7408 4090
 Advisory: Stephane Auton / Lucy Bowden

 Broking: Fiona Conroy

 OAK Securities - Joint Broker

 Jerry Keen / Henry Clarke / Damion Carruel

 WG Partners - Joint Broker                                           +44 (0)20 3705 9330

 David Wilson / Claes Spång / Satheesh Nadarajah / Erland Sternby

 Camarco - Financial PR                                               +44 (0)20 3757 4980

Marc Cohen / Tilly Butcher / Fergus Young

                                                                    OBDFinancial@camarco.co.uk

Notes for Editors

About Oxford BioDynamics Plc

Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) is an international biotechnology company,
advancing personalized healthcare by developing and commercializing precision
clinical diagnostic tests for life-changing diseases.

Currently OBD has two commercially available products: the EpiSwitch® PSE
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.94percent.com/___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ZGFiYjhlY2EwMWM5YWYzYjdhZjZhZmExZGM4OTMyMDg6NjphZTRmOjE1ZmE3ZTA1NmFmMzlmYjIzZmFhOGU1NTc5MWI0OTdiODZmMjVmOTFlOWQ2YjBiZTM3YmNmMTMxMGYxOTcxMjI6cDpU)
 (EpiSwitch Prostate Cancer Detection Test) and EpiSwitch® CiRT
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/www.mycirt.com/___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ZGFiYjhlY2EwMWM5YWYzYjdhZjZhZmExZGM4OTMyMDg6NjpjZGI4OjQ3ZWJmMjU3YzNhNjYzYzNiYWVjZGNlMTJjZDM5ZGZkYzBlNmQyNTc0OTdlZWU4ZGI4ODFlYzU1OWZmN2JmMWE6cDpU)
 (Checkpoint Inhibitor Response Test) blood tests. PSE boosts the predictive
accuracy of a PSA test from 55% to 94% when testing the presence or absence of
prostate cancer. CiRT is a highly accurate (85%) predictive response test to
immuno-oncology checkpoint inhibitor treatments.

The tests are based on OBD's proprietary 3D genomic biomarker platform,
EpiSwitch® which enables screening, evaluation, validation and monitoring of
biomarkers to diagnose patients or determine how individuals might respond to
a disease or treatment.

OBD's clinical smart tests have the potential to be used across a broader
range of indications, and new tests are being developed in the areas of
oncology, neurology, inflammation, hepatology and animal health.

The Group's headquarters and UK laboratories are in Oxford, UK. Its US
operations and clinical laboratory are in Maryland, USA, along with a
reference laboratory in Penang, Malaysia.

OBD is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM (LSE: OBD). For more
information, please visit the Company's website, www.oxfordbiodynamics.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.oxfordbiodynamics.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ZGFiYjhlY2EwMWM5YWYzYjdhZjZhZmExZGM4OTMyMDg6Njo3YmRiOmUxODM2ZWZhYmIxNjdhMjFiNTMxOThjNjE0YzMwYzg5YzA1MjI2MmYxMGY0ZTU1MzdjYzdlYzg1NDA5ZTcyOWU6cDpU)
,  X (@OxBioDynamics) or LinkedIn
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/www.linkedin.com/company/oxford-biodynamics___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86ZGFiYjhlY2EwMWM5YWYzYjdhZjZhZmExZGM4OTMyMDg6NjozM2I4OmVmNzdkN2M0NmYxZDg3ODc0MWQ1NDEyMGQ4MjAxOWVmMTg4ZTMzNWY4MTA5NGE3NTE5ZDdlNWIwNjI5MTRhMTM6cDpU)
.

About Bupa Global, India & UK

Bupa's purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and
making a better world. Health insurance accounts for a large part of our
business with Bupa UK Insurance, the UK's leading health insurer, providing
health and dental cover to over 3.9 million people. Bupa Global is the premium
health insurance arm of Bupa, serving 360,000 customers around the world. Niva
Bupa is a leading provider of health insurance and retail health insurance in
India, with 15.4 million customers. Bupa Dental Care is the leading provider
of dentistry in the UK, providing dental services in around 400 centres across
the UK and Ireland. Bupa Care Services has around 7000 residents in over 116
care homes, and 10 Richmond care villages. Bupa Health Services comprises 79
health clinics, and the Cromwell Hospital in London which provides care for
insured, self-pay and international patients.

 

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