Bladder cancer: the rapid test developed in Sherbrooke is on the way to market

“I am happy that the CHUS Foundation was the spark plug for this project. Our contribution served as a lever for the research team. With this funding, she was able to start the study, but also convince other financial partners and obtain research grants. Even today, through the Men's Health Fund, the Foundation supports research on prostate cancer, following the discovery of this new method. We are very proud to contribute to innovation in the field of diagnostics”, explains the director general of the CHUS Foundation, Martin Clermont.

After a rigorous validation process on a global scale, the team from the Cancer Research Institute of the University of Sherbrooke (IRCUS) and the CHUS Research Center (CRCHUS) is joining forces with RYND Biotech to commercialize the rapid test.

“Rynd Biotech is proud to join the Sherbrooke team. This partnership is a perfect example of how science and entrepreneurship can transform medicine,” said Camille Dodd, CEO of RYND Biotech. “This innovation, already followed by experts and investors around the world, represents a major breakthrough in the diagnosis of bladder cancer. We are in the process of finalizing the financing and development of the prototype by the end of the year, with commercialization expected as early as 2028-2029.”

From basic research to the bedside

In the field of health, it is also rather rare for a discovery to go through all the stages until a concrete product is marketed as a result of fundamental research.

“By collaborating and sharing resources, we were able to identify four common biomarkers in urine samples from people with bladder cancer,” explains Dr. Claudio Jeldres, urologist and co-principal investigator. This precision allows our test to stand out from the others. But, in addition, this same method could be applied to the diagnosis of prostate cancer. In fact, our research team has already got back to work to identify the biomarkers that are related to it.”

Thanks to international collaboration, the team developed a test that could be used by all populations. “When the World Health Organization (WHO) became interested in our project, we understood the immense potential of our rapid test,” adds Professor François-Michel Boisvert, scientific director of the Institute for Research on Cancer at the University of Sherbrooke (IRCUS) and co-principal investigator. Thanks to this collaboration, we were able to establish international partnerships with several universities in order to validate our test with various populations around the world. This collaboration has confirmed that our approach is among the most reliable on the market.”

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Sherbrooke's secret recipe: the synergy and proximity of our institutions

The pooling of expertise is one of the major strengths of this project. “It is the result of a great collaboration between research teams and it is also made possible thanks to a multitude of stakeholders both at the university and at the CRCHUS”, underlines Dr. André Carpentier, scientific director of the CRCHUS. “The will of our teams, the perseverance of our researchers and the contribution of students have allowed this great innovation that we are all proud of.”

With this invention, we eloquently demonstrate all Sherbrooke's know-how in terms of innovation, discoveries and partnerships with industry. By using the Office of Valorization and Partnerships at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the research team ensured a smooth transition to the commercialization of the test. “On a daily basis, we make sure to encourage collaborations between the research teams of our institutions and those of our partners to promote innovation,” explains Marie-Claude Battista, director of the Valuation and Partnerships Office. “Then, we make sure to put in place the winning conditions for the technology transfer to the patient, all in collaboration with TransferTech Sherbrooke, an essential ally of the University of Sherbrooke.”

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