Spun out of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK, New York City), Summit Biomedical Imaging, LLC is organized around development of novel, targeted cancer diagnostics designed to improve both patient care and outcomes by detecting cancer earlier and more accurately. A primary focus has been the commercialization of PARPi-FL, a PARP1 detecting molecular probe the team had been investigating at Memorial Sloan Kettering and that appears to meet the firm's objectives. Pre-clinical studies have shown that PARPi-FL can specifically and sensitively detect oral cancer. Many cancers overexpress Poly-Adensoine phosphate Ribose Polymerase 1 (PARP1), an enzyme that is responsible for DNA repair in the rapidly dividing cancer cells. The firm is using a small molecule-based, fluorescent diagnostic agent (PARPi-FL) to detect the overexpression of PARP1. Proof-of-principle studies have shown successful detection of several human cancers, including oral cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, and esophageal cancer
