Durban man’s role in breakthrough cancer test
A FORMER KwaZulu-Natal North Coast resident has had a prominent hand in breakthrough multi-cancer early detection test technology that could potentially “light the way” to reduced mortality rates and treatment costs.
Wesley Sukdao is the CEO and co-founder of Proteotype Diagnostics LTD, a UK-based company that produced Enlighten, a laboratory test system that detects cancer as early as the immune system does.
The cancer diagnostics norm has generally been to rely on tumour-released signals that only become apparent once the disease has progressed appreciably, which could ultimately render treatment futile because of late interventions.
However, Enlighten’s Multi Cancer Early Detection test gives perspective on the changing protein levels in the earliest cancer stages and the host’s subsequent response to tumour development.
In recognition of the ingenuity, the British government’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Office for Life Sciences awarded Proteotype, working in collaboration with the University of Southampton, a grant of £1.5 million (about R34 million) last month.
Sukdao said the grant was a “big deal” given all the rigorous validation qualifying processes the test underwent.
“Landing the grant from the NIHR after all the scrutiny was most satisfying. We had to convince a large number of people that the study was worthwhile.”
He said the grant would fund the enrolment of 1 350 patients who will be part of an observational prospective study, looking at 10 types of solid tumours.
“The grant is pivotal to generate data to support commercialisation.”
He confirmed that the test was validated externally by independent operators in laboratories and various international bodies. It was also presented at conferences and had a review paper on it.
Sukdao’s co-partners are his wife Dr Emma Yates, who is the chief scientific officer, and Cambridge Professor Gonçalo Bernardes.
He said the campaign was dubbed “Light the Way” because the test generated light when chemistry was added to a blood sample and processed.
“It is a simple test where we look at proteins in blood plasma after adding chemicals (reagents) to it before receiving a reading.”
Sukdao described the test as like a “CT scan” for blood.
In explaining the role of proteins relative to an individual’s DNA, he said: “A person’s DNA is similar to the lines of a movie script and the proteins are the actors who bring the story to life. Proteins give good insight into what is happening real-time in the body.”
Treating cancer effectively has resonance with Sukdao, who lost three family members (including his father) at a young age to the dreaded disease.
His roots were in the village of Etete, near Groutville, and he attended schools there.
He landed bursaries to first study statistics and actuarial science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and then pursued his BSc Honours in financial maths at Wits University.
He held various roles in the finance sector with a few large banks and was selected for an elite training programme. Six months into it he lost his job because of the global credit crisis of 2008.
“I had to figure out how I was going to reinvent myself and find work.”
He turned to IT and picked up a different skill set as he worked for major corporations before moving into sales.
Having mastered a few trades he ventured into consulting and worked for a consulting firm doing technology projects.
He took a transfer and joined the company’s UK head offices in 2014, for the sake of opportunities and expanding his network.
“That’s when I met Dr Emma Yates. She was a PhD student who discovered a new way to molecularly profile bio fluid proteins.
“She wanted to be a professor but because of health reasons she couldn’t pursue it. We thought it would be amazing to make a career out of her study on proteins. Together with my skills, we had the idea to use technology to impact more people with Emma’s findings.
“That was the start of the company in 2019.
“I was just playing the role of a supportive husband and Emma was a woman in science with a passion for proteins.
“I believe there was a reason why we met.”
He said their idea was to screen for multiple cancers, including ones without guidelines for screening, like pancreatic cancer that was responsible for 7% of all cancer deaths.
Finding cancer in its early stage when it was very small and wasn’t shedding much tumour DNA was their main objective.
“It is like finding a needle in the haystack.”
Sukdao said they had signals for five cancer types and wanted to extend it to 10.
As work continued on their test, Sukado said there was already demand for partnerships in the UK and other places like Portugal, China and the US.
He also hoped to land academic partnerships in South Africa and the African continent.
“It would be a shame not to bring the test to SA.”