Situation
An early stage company evaluating a novel office-based prostate cancer diagnostic for potential in-licensing and commercialization. They had preliminary human data and as well as a developed testing flow. 3elms was asked to evaluate stakeholder requirements for the test, assess product-market fit, and estimate commercial potential.
Solution
We performed an in-depth competitive assessment of in-market and pipeline prostate cancer diagnostics. From there, we developed a perspective on challenges with current approaches and the estimated cost for both the patient and system from low specificity. Finally, we conducted in-depth primary research with urologists and urology office managers to understand patient flow, validate pain points in prostate cancer diagnosis, identify performance requirements, and evaluate target product profile.
Outcome
Ultimately, our assessment Identified that the client testing format would not fit with current urology practice patient flow and would potentially disrupt office practices. Based on this we determined that adoption of the test as currently envisioned would be low and commercial potential limited.. Additionally, we found that sensitivity and specificity of preliminary testing, while superior to existing prostate cancer diagnostics, were not robust enough for widespread adoption as a screening test. Based on these findings, client decided to return the technology to the inventor and pursue other testing platforms.