Oral cancer is one of the top three cancer types in men and women in Southeast Asia. And India is known as the world's capital of oral cancer. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2019, the average age of tobacco habit initiation in India is 17 years old, and about one million people die of oral cancer each year in India due to late stage detection. More than 90% of cancer cases are discovered in later stages when cancer has spread to other parts of the body and the odds of survival and successful treatment have decreased.

Significantly, a biotechnology firm founded in 2019, developing the next generation of early stage and affordable diagnostics solutions and medical equipment for the non invasive and painless detection of multiple cancers using saliva is ErlySign. ErlySign has chosen Oncology as its initial targeted segment, bringing a new paradigm change in the preventative healthcare and diagnostic industry. ErlySign's semi quantitative test kit uses saliva to look for active biomarkers that are produced into the saliva when the ECM begins to degrade, resulting in pre cancer and later OSCC. The Erlysign test kit measures risk from (Low Moderate High) and takes only 10 minutes to complete. The kit looks for biochemicals secreted in the saliva rather than a tumor or lesion that will develop later.

It's also a great tool for healthcare providers to use when deciding if a suspected patient needs a diagnostic procedure like a biopsy or a PET scan or if some dietary/lifestyle changes and medicines will suffice at the

current stage. "The test has been thoroughly confirmed by American Oncology experts, HCG, and US based oncologists, and is now under large scale randomized clinical trials in partnership with HCG (Health Care Global Ltd), Southeast Asia's largest cancer care network. ERLYSIGN is also a participant in the LUMOS Health Accelerator program, a collaboration between Anthill Ventures(Singapore)and HCG,"signifies Dr. Deovrat Begde, Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Deovrat is a technically proficient researcher with more than 15 years of expertise in research and teaching. He is very well versed in both Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

The painless detection of today will save you from a painful life of tomorrow

The Road Ahead
Since the commencement of the R& D in 2018, the company has progressed from a concept to a working product that has been widely accepted by renowned oncologists and biotech specialists from India and abroad. The product and the science behind it are very well accepted by the Users, Doctors, and Experts. And as it forges ahead to reaching new heights, it aspires to become the first company from India to have launched a set of completely validated early detection kits for Oral, Lung, Breast, Colorectal, and Pancreatic cancer all through just 5ml of a saliva sample. It expects to offer two more early detection test kits for lung (adenocarcinoma) and breast cancer by 2022, which is the closest milestone it has set.

Dr. Deovrat Begde, Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer
10 years down the line, the firm wants to be the one-stop-shop for all prognostic and diagnostic needs in the field of cancer. It also hopes to establish a new gold standard in cancer diagnostics by using its CRISPR-based solution to replace traditional biopsies. "We intend to prevent 10 million lives from cancer in the coming years by discovering it early. However, we will not limit ourselves to early detection for periodic assessment, it will also be very helpful to Oncologists and Oral Surgeons in monitoring postoperative patients and determining whether or not the prescribed treatment options and medications are functioning effectively for them. The crucial data obtained by our tests will also be useful in the R& D of precision medicine and personalized cancer treatments," concludes Shubhendra Singh Thakur, Co-founder & CEO. Shubhendra specializes in clinical trials and has worked on several ground breaking solutions, including “JOLT” a women's safety wearable to discourage criminals, “Frosty” a personal cooling gadget , “Tellon” a campus networking application that also got recognized by Facebook's Fbstart program and & “CUROPAL” which was meant to detect Kidney diseases through urine in its early stages.