Vesynta’s mission is to remodel chemotherapeutic dosing regimens, allowing for near-real-time adjustment of a patient’s cancer treatment. At the core of this step-change is the ability to measure a patient’s unique “drug exposure” (the concentration of the drug in the bloodstream over time) i.e. their personal pharmacokinetics. Measurements of this sort have previously been available only in centralised laboratories with specialised facilities and dedicated staff, thus limiting their accessibility, transparency and in some cases, accuracy. Transporting this technology to the ward (operated by a nurse, with results immediately fed-back to the attending doctor) benefits all patients by avoiding both subtherapeutic dosing (improving treatment effectiveness) and supratherapeutic dosing (reducing life-limiting side effects).

Until now, current medical practice has been to standardise the dose of chemotherapeutic drugs based upon either a patient’s body mass (weigh alone) or body surface area (a combination of height and weight). However, this approach relies upon generic “drug exposure” models based on predominantly healthy, Caucasian adult males. Naturally, this cannot account for each individual’s unique ability for processing a medicine, which is related to our body shape, state of health and metabolic capacity. Yes – age, gender and ethnicity are also at play here! For too long, cancer care has underrepresented the young, old, women, ethnic minorities and obese/malnourished patients in their dosing methods. Vesynta’s proposition of making a direct measurement of the “drug exposure” during the course of treatment for each and every cancer patient eliminates sub-optimal administration of life-critical healthcare and is the only way to truly personalise dosing. Uniquely, it allows for dosing to evolve and adapt as a patient’s condition and health develops.

“Drug exposure” measurements require blood samples to be taken before, during and after administration of a drug, followed by accurate and precise measurement. With this information doses can be adjusted according to how the patient is processing their medicine. Using Vesynta’s technology, this is achieved by minimally invasive microsampling (less than a few drops of blood) and fully-automated analysis, thereby becoming a reliable and standardised tool for time-pressured healthcare practitioners. It lends support and accountability to clinicians responsible for the health and wellbeing of patients. Risk versus benefit decisions can now be made with more confidence enhancing patient safety as a result.

Unlike pharmacokinetic models developed within closed clinical trials, Vesynta’s technology becomes more accurate over time due to deep and continuous modelling of clinical data. This provides the capability to identify and account for factors that affect “drug exposure” a priori – providing clinicians with a near-optimal starting dose to begin treatment from, even for the most challenging patients.

Overall, Vesynta looks to redefine clinical dosing away from the ‘one size fits all’ system towards an accessible, scalable and reliable method that not only improves patient treatment and recovery, but also the level of care given by physicians.

www.vesynta.com

Written by Oscar