Investment Update - Paraytec HoT with VosBio

Investment update - Paraytec agrees heads of terms for proposed collaboration agreement with VosBio Inc.

Truetide plc (AIM: TRUE) announces that its 100%-owned investee company, Paraytec Limited ("Paraytec"), has agreed heads of terms for a proposed research and development collaboration agreement with VosBio, Inc. ("VosBio"), a US-based developer of non-invasive breath-sampling technology, to evaluate the feasibility of combining their respective technologies in the field of early, non-invasive lung cancer detection.

VosBio has developed the Universal Breath Collector, a device for the rapid, non-invasive capture of exhaled breath condensate ("EBC") from human subjects. VosBio has identified extracellular vesicles ("EVs") in EBC at concentrations which it believes are comparable to those found in sputum and holds data indicating that EV profiles may have the potential to differ between healthy individuals and lung cancer patients. VosBio has filed patent applications covering the counting, characterisation and ratio analysis of EVs in this context.

Paraytec's CX300 is a portable, high-sensitivity fluorescence detection instrument capable of identifying labelled biomarkers at picomolar concentrations. Paraytec and VosBio intend to assess whether the CX300, combined with VosBio's breath-collection technology, can support an integrated, non-invasive test for biomarkers associated with early-stage lung cancer.

VosBio maintains an existing fee-funded research collaboration with the University of Sheffield involving cell and EV-based exhaled breath analysis. Subject to entering into the definitive collaboration agreement, the proposed partnership with Paraytec is structured to test commercial and scientific viability before any further investment of Group resources is committed.

The Board believes that combining the CX300's detection sensitivity with VosBio's non-invasive breath-sampling approach represents a logical extension of Paraytec's existing capability and could support the development of a clinically relevant screening or triage application. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, in large part because the majority of cases are diagnosed at a late stage; a validated, non-invasive screening or triage tool would address a substantial unmet clinical need.

Further announcements will be made in due course once the definitive collaboration agreement has been signed.

Trevor Brown, CEO of Truetide, said: "This proposed collaboration with VosBio provides a further opportunity for Paraytec to apply its CX300 platform to an area of significant unmet clinical need in early cancer screening. Importantly, the initial work is being funded by VosBio and is structured as a disciplined feasibility programme, enabling us to assess the scientific and commercial potential before committing further Group resources. We will update shareholders as the programme progresses."