Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute Creates First Spin-off Company, EValuate Diagnostics

The company, based on science from the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation, promises to capture biomarkers for early diagnostics detecting cancer and a variety of diseases

EDISON, N.J., Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute and its Office of Innovation and Commercialization have taken the step of establishing the first spin-off company based on science developed within the Hackensack Meridian Health network. The company aims to make tests detecting cancer and other diseases earlier than ever before.

EValuate Diagnostics will market a new system for the capture of extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, which have been elusive to medicine thus far. Novel diagnostic assays derived from this technology will help select and identify disease biomarkers for earlier-than-ever detection of tumors and a wide range of other diseases.

"This is a remarkable breakthrough for our health network, and for patients of the future," said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health. "We are taking the science produced by our terrific minds at the Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute, and then moving it to the market so it can benefit all. Detecting deadly cancers as soon as possible means lives can, and will, be saved."

The company is based upon the work of Olivier Loudig, Ph.D., an associate member of the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), who is directly involved with the development of EValuate Diagnostics. His Laboratory at the CDI has developed research programs for biomarker discovery and early detection of breast, lung, and prostate cancers using liquid biopsies.

Developing cancer lesions, which may remain elusive due to their small size by traditional imaging approaches or tissue biopsies, still leave a molecular trace in biofluids such as blood. The laboratory of Dr. Loudig has homed in on this minute trail and, using highly sensitive next-generation-sequencing technologies, has been able to detect RNA signature indicative of the developing lesions. The development of gene expression assays for diagnostics is widely used for evaluating large tumors, but with this novel tracking technology, and applied to early detection has the potential to exponentially help save patient lives.

"We are really establishing the threshold of detection," said Dr. Loudig recently.

A core tenet of the mission of the CDI, founded in 2019, is translating cutting-edge science to rapidly impact patient health for New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive health network. EValuate Diagnostics is a direct product of this research ethos, driving the discoveries of the Loudig Laboratory to help patients in the very near future.

"This is a thrilling development," said Sandra Powell-Elliott, the chief innovation officer for Hackensack Meridian Health, who leads the network's Office of Innovation and Commercialization. "The health network supports so many great initiatives - but this is a new way for the health network to really bring innovation to the next level."

"This is a new milestone for innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health," said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, Hackensack Meridian Health's president of Academics, Research and Innovation, founding chair of the Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute, and also associate dean of Clinical Integration and professor and chair emeritus of Urology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. "The work of Olivier Loudig is promising, and we want to fulfill that promise with all the support we can provide."

The Office of Innovation and Commercialization launched in 2022 and promises to support innovations and discoveries across Hackensack Meridian Health. One of its marquee programs so far is the Bear's Den - an innovation incubator launched in 2017 which brings together a panel of experts, including Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Garrett, leading physicians, key network executives, venture capitalists, patent attorneys, who gather regularly to vet proposals from entrepreneurs. The health network's novel incubator has vetted many products and strategies to streamline care delivery, reduce infections, lower hospital readmissions and help patients partner in their care with physicians. The program has also invested in promising innovative companies.

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. The network has 18 hospitals and more than 500 patient care locations, which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers, physician practice locations, and a fitness and wellness center. With more than 35,000 team members and 7,000 physicians, Hackensack Meridian Health is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy and committed to the health and well-being of communities throughout New Jersey.

The network's notable distinctions include having more U.S. News-ranked hospitals than any other health system in New Jersey, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 2022-23. Hackensack University Medical Center is nationally-ranked by U.S. News & World Report in four specialties, more than any other hospital in New Jersey. Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, and K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, are ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region by U.S. News & World Report's 2023-24 Best Children's Hospital Report. Additionally, their combined nephrology, urology, cancer, and neurology/neurosurgery programs rank in the top 50 in the United States. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org. 

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION

The Center for Discovery and Innovation, a member of Hackensack Meridian Health, translates current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients. More than 29 laboratories, 185 professional researchers and physician-scientists at the CDI have set their sights on cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and other acute and chronic diseases. Clinical need drives the scientific insights, and their application, for these researchers, as shown in the real-time response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in new diagnostics, therapies, and surveillance abilities. The CDI leverages a new wave of scientific advances involving genetics, cell engineering of the human immune system, and imaging to better diagnose, treat and prevent disease through personalized medicine approaches. For additional information, please visit www.hmh-cdi.org.

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE (HMHRI):
HMHRI leads and organizes a connected ecosystem bringing together clinicians, scientists, and educators to respond to the health problems of our time, in real-time. HMHRI is dedicated to accelerating discovery, innovation, and translation of scientific breakthroughs that address unmet clinical needs.

SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health