Executing an impactful urinary tract cancers strategy – when opportunity grabs you by the hand

Aqsens Health’s research and clinical trial projects in Finland and China, along with exclusive scientific partnerships with the University of Tartu and University of Eastern Finland, have all contributed to crafting an efficient urinary tract cancers strategy. In this blog post Aqsens Health’s CEO and Co-founder Timo Teimonen recounts Aqsens’ urinary tract cancer strategy journey and discusses the importance of international collaboration and multidisciplinary approaches in advancing cancer research.

Taking the first steps on the strategy journey during the pandemic

We started the urinary tract strategy journey in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 with a Helsinki University Hospital project focusing on the detection of lethal variants of prostate cancer, grade groups 4 and 5, from urine. The project yielded very encouraging results, which remained good even after several exclusion and confirming tests. So, we decided to move ahead and write a scientific publication and file a patent. Often in life opportunity grabs you by the hand and leads the way, and so it did for us as well. It just happened that our scientific publications got reviewed by a relatively well-known editor, a professor from China. He gave us really positive review feedback and encouraged us to continue with our work. So we did.

Making an important new discovery in metastatic cancer detection

While working on the prostate cancer project, we also discovered that metastatic cancer variants were giving different signals compared to healthy controls and non-metastatic cancer variants. Our skeptical minds needed more proof for what we we’re seeing, so the team went back into the laboratory to perform complementary tests. And there indeed was a signal difference. After some careful consideration and with help of the University of Eastern Finland, we built a hypothesis supporting our discovery. With a clearer view we decided to establish an additional cohort to collect urine samples from several metastatic cancer variants, and so started our research project with the Turku University Hospital.

By this stage, we had conducted hundreds of thousands of urine measurements to thoroughly understand its unique characteristics as a matrix. Simultaneously, our lab team carried out thousands of metabolic analyses on both simulated and real human samples to explore metabolic states, which is essential for establishing the fundamental principles of accurate urine analysis. We also consulted the World Anti Doping Agency and its leading researcher to better understand certain chemical properties and changes in urine. All this new information came together into an understanding that with biosensors it is possible to overcome many of the existing challenges in urinalysis, creating a possibility to make a difference in diagnostics.

Getting more in-depth with biosensors

Scientifically, we realized that we needed even more in-depth experience on how to modify and work with biosensors, which in our case are bacteria viruses (phages).  Through connections in California, we found our way to University of Tartu, where the laboratory of precision and nanomedicine specializes in phages. After a few discussions we established a scientific collaboration with the team to investigate the functions of our biosensors in more detail. This rewarding scientific work continues, with countless opportunities to unlock the full potential of modified phages.

Taking the whole urinary tract into consideration

Later in 2022 in a review session with a well-known US diagnostics strategy executive he suggested looking at the whole urinary tract, not just prostate cancer, “because the versatility of biosensors and wider approach would bring you not only new opportunities but also lower the overall risk to success”, he said. We liked his thinking, though we knew that especially the VC market would prefer to see single asset stories, not several or a versatile method, like our case would be. After some consideration, we decided to start looking at the whole urinary tract. We succeeded in setting up a project around bladder cancer and its classifications jointly with Turku University Hospital and Turku-based Auria Biobank, making it a unique local collaboration, which remains our top priority. 

Advancing research with preclinical and clinical trials in China

Quite early we realized that in the existing Finnish healthcare structure, getting a sufficient number of samples for any low prevalence diseases, which are required for a randomized study, would take far too long. So, we restarted our dialogue with China – we contacted the professor we’d learned to know through the review process, I talked to my old contacts, and we received crucial help from Team Finland. And as we all know, when you have something China is interested in, things will start to happen quickly. 

We found a local diagnostics partner in Nanjing and started the process to pull together a team of oncologists, cancer hospitals and other needed parties. Within nine months we’d secured international funding from both China and Finland to launch the BIOURICA project in Nanjing. This large scale clinical trial project encompasses both prostate and bladder cancer, and also their metastatic variants, aligning well with our ongoing research here in Finland. While the patient cohorts are identical, the BIOURICA project implements a richer metadata set and of course larger scale. Our local partner in Nanjing is taking care of all quality measures related to sample collection and communication with local authorities and cancer hospitals. 

At the same we were also invited to become members of the Urimarker WeChat group where 500 urine researchers are sharing their latest findings and scientific publications. So, things really started to accelerate.

Embracing cooperation to deliver better results quicker

While writing this, we are in the process of analyzing anonymous clinical data and our biosensor data with external parties both from Finland and China. We have exclusive access to thousands of samples as well as to a world class AI in Life Sciences team at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. This new way of working promotes the complementary strengths of two countries and helps us all to move on quicker with better quality. Something we should do more as a small country with limited resources.

All in all, I am humbled by this ongoing strategy journey and super excited to see what we all as one team can make happen in years to come.

Timo Teimonen

Co-Founder and CEO

Aqsens Health Oy

Stay up to date on our projects and company news by following us on LinkedIn.

Related posts:

Next practises and post-pandemic learnings for international research collaboration

Aqsens Health starting pre-clinical trials for urinary tract cancer detection in China