February 19, 2008

Tobacco money propels Biomoda lung cancer technology

Tobacco money propels Biomoda

The New Mexico Legislature included $1.3 million in its fiscal year 2009 budget proposal to study new technology for rapid detection of lung and other cancers.

The New Mexico Legislature included $1.3 million in its fiscal year 2009 budget proposal to study new technology for rapid detection of lung and other cancers.

The technology is being developed by Albuquerque's Biomoda Inc. based on discoveries made at Los Alamos National Laboratory 20 years ago. Biomoda licensed the technology in the early 1990s and has worked more than 15 years to develop it into a marketable product for clinical diagnostics and possibly new cancer therapies.

If signed by Gov. Bill Richardson, the money would come from the Tobacco Settlement Program fund and be channeled to the Veterans Services Department to test for lung cancer in 2,500 veterans statewide, said Sen. John Ryan, R-Bernalillo/Sandoval, who co-sponsored the legislation. The department, in turn, would contract the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro to supervise the study in partnership with Biomoda.

"It's much cheaper and simpler than any other technology available for detecting lung cancer, and...

Read the complete story at the New Mexico Business Weekly.