EnglishIntraoperative detection of tumors
Technology overview
SurgiMab’s tumor-targeting fluorescent molecules enable real time visualization of tumor margins, tumor spread and micro-tumors which are invisible to the naked eye.
As opposed to an indiscriminate contrast agent, this ability to specifically highlight malignant tissue during a procedure opens up a broad market in both surgical tumor resection (FluorescenceGuided Surgery) and potentially also in cancer screening.
SurgiMab’s technique of intraoperative detection of tumors combines the specificity of monoclonal antibodies and the sensitivity of fluorescent detection. Its lead product, SGM-101 is the only cancer-targeting fluorescent molecule with efficacy demonstrated in the clinic for several digestive tumors (currently marketed fluorescent agents are not tumor-specific).
When patients undergo surgery, the induced contrast between healthy tissue and tumors allows a precise isolation of tumor nodules that can be resected by the surgeon with no delay.
Surgeons can rely on fluorescence imaging to assess surgical margins, for detection of metastases that are otherwise too small to be seen, to accurately stage cancer and detect small invisible metastases or to spare normal tissue.
SurgiMab’s fluorescent conjugates are excited at 700nm, meaning that they can be used together with ICG, the only non-targeted fluorescent dye that is authorized to date in the clinic for near infra-red angiography of blood vessels during reconstructive surgery.