PAVmed Subsidiary Lucid Diagnostics Launches EsoGuard Telemedicine Program in Partnership with UpScriptHealth - Seite 2

Lucid Test Centers currently operate in leased medical office suites located in three locations in Phoenix and one each in Denver, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Lucid plans to add upcoming test centers in the Pacific Northwest and then steadily expand nationwide. Each test center is staffed with Lucid-employed clinical personnel who use Lucid’s EsoCheck Cell Collection Device (“EsoCheck”) to collect esophageal cells which are sent for EsoGuard testing. Lucid estimates that a single nurse practitioner can perform up to twenty EsoCheck procedures per day and expects each center to cover its personnel and medical office leases costs with only a few tests per week.

Since their launch, the test centers have been seeing patients referred for EsoGuard testing by their PCPs. Now, patients who respond to direct-to-consumer engagements can request video telemedicine evaluation through the EsoGuard Telemedicine Program by contacting 1-888-FOODTUBE or registering at www.EsoGuardConsultation.com. If clinically indicated, the telemedicine physician will refer the patient to a Lucid Test Center or other clinical facility for EsoGuard testing. The EsoGuard test result will be reported to this physician who will refer the patient for gastroenterology evaluation if indicated.

Millions of patients with GERD are at risk of developing esophageal precancer and a highly lethal form of esophageal cancer (EAC). Over 80% of EAC patients die within five years of diagnosis, making it the second most lethal cancer in the U.S. The mortality rate is high even in those diagnosed with early stage EAC. The U.S. incidence of EAC has increased 500% over the past four decades, while the incidences of other common cancers have declined or remained flat. In nearly all cases, EAC silently progresses until it manifests itself with new symptoms of advanced disease. All EAC is believed to arise from esophageal precancer which occurs in approximately 5% to 15% of at-risk GERD patients. Early esophageal precancer can be monitored for progression to late esophageal precancer which can be cured with endoscopic esophageal ablation, reliably halting progression to cancer.

Esophageal precancer screening is already recommended by clinical practice guidelines in millions of GERD patients with multiple risk factors, including age over 50 years, male gender, White race, obesity, smoking history, and a family history of esophageal precancer or cancer. Unfortunately, fewer than 10% of those recommended for screening undergo traditional invasive endoscopic screening. The profound tragedy of an EAC diagnosis is that likely death could have been prevented if the at-risk GERD patient had been screened and then undergone surveillance and curative treatment. The only missing element for a viable esophageal cancer prevention program has been the lack of a widespread screening tool that can detect esophageal precancer. Lucid believes EsoGuard and EsoCheck are the missing element and constitute the first and only commercially available test capable of serving as a widespread screening tool to prevent esophageal cancer deaths, through the early detection of esophageal precancer in at-risk GERD patients.