Company Profile

Sanguine Diagnostics and Therapeutics (SDT) is structured aound development of mucin-based diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for management of pancreatic diseases (pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and cystic lesions of the pancreas), with the plan also to develop diagnostics and therapeutics for multiple cancers. The firm began active product development with its first STTR Phase I award in 2014 for the project, “Mucins in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Pancreatic Diseases.” Patients harboring cystic lesions in the pancreas are considered to have a high-risk of developing pancreatic cancer, and due to the variable malignant potential of cystic pancreatic lesions, a majority of patients are managed surgically,” Junker says. “Since pancreatic surgery carries significant morbidity, better markers are needed to stratify the risk of malignancy in patients with asymptomatic cystic pancreatic lesions. Our proposed studies will validate if MUC4 staining in endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) fine-needle aspiration biopsies can help in in appropriate patient selection for surgical resection.” SDT received a second phase I award in 2016 for another project, “Ultrasensitive SERS Nano-Sensors for Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis.” Most recently, SDT received an SBIR Fast-track grant and is beginning Phase II work to validate an antibody-based diagnostic assay. A second SBIR Fast-track is under consideration to be awarded this April. Junker says the company has received the support of Joe Runge, J.D., and Michael Dixon, Ph.D., of UNeMed — the technology licensing office of UNMC/UNO — in SDT’s continuing efforts to develop arrangements for use of the reagents and intellectual property that emerge from collaborations be