A Silicon Valley start-up aims to bring precision medicine to dogs, CNBC reports.
According to the National Canine Cancer Foundation, one in three dogs will develop cancer during their lifetime. Much like people, dogs with cancer are traditionally treated with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation—or a combination thereof. However, only one targeted cancer therapy is currently available for dogs—Palladia.
That’s where One Health, a Silicon valley start-up comes in. The company hopes to make it easier for pet owners to access targeted therapies with its gene-sequencing product called FidoCure, which analyzes the same biopsy sample used to diagnose the dog’s cancer in the first place to recommend the best unique course of treatment.
One Health will recommend many of the same targeted cancer therapies approved for humans. While using these treatments on dogs isn’t unusual, choosing which to use based on canines’ individual tumors and mutations is entirely new.
“We come from the principle, the scientific principle, that every cancer is unique,” said One Health founder and CEO Christina Lopez. “So while some therapies might work for some populations, I don’t know of any that work for all, really. In any species.”
The company also says it hopes to make treatment for sick pets safer, gentler and more efficacious. One Health currently recommends 14 different drugs and is studying more. The company is working with veterinarians in 11 states and also collaborates with animal pharmacies across the country.
One Health says it’s still too early to publish data on FidoCure. However, the company says many of its clients are living much longer than would have been expected using traditional treatment. In fact, of the first 80 dogs that used FidoCure, almost half had failed previous treatment. Twenty-four of those 38 dogs considered terminal are still alive today.
FidoCure is priced to be less than human chemo and is covered by nearly all pet insurances.
To learn more about precision medicine, click here.
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