When an external force traumatically injures the brain – like a bullet, assault, car accident or even a mild sports concussion – the hours, even the minutes are critical. Still no diagnostic blood test exists for use by physicians in the emergency room to detect the presence and severity of brain trauma. Banyan Biomarkers has raised $6 million from private investors to go towards development of such a test.
The biotechnical research company which aims to create the first point-of care blood test to diagnose traumatic brain injury, announced this fundraising achievement on June 20. “We are extremely pleased to have such a group of highly experienced investors who will help us grow the company to the next level,” said Jackson Streeter M.D. CEO of Banyan Biomarkers, in the Business Wire press release. “Our groundbreaking research is poised to bring the first ever diagnostic blood test for TBI to the patient. This test will provide critical objective information to assist the clinician to properly triage and diagnose TBI.”
Traumatic brain injury may cause difficulty concentrating, fatigue, memory loss and headaches, but since it’s not visible like a broken leg or a broken arm, it’s often called a “silent epidemic.” However, the numbers speak loudly. Of the 1.7 million TBIs that occur in the U.S. each year, it is estimated that 1.4 million are seen in emergency departments, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As a result, direct and indirect costs of TBI in the U.S. were approximately $76.3 billion in 2010.
Traumatic brain injury is also considered one of the invisible wounds of war. Blasts are a leading cause of TBI for active duty military personnel in war zones, but CDC estimates of TBI do not include injuries seen at U.S. Department of Defense or Veteran Health Administration Hospitals. At the time of the fundraising announcement, Banyan, which has offices in Alachua, FL and Carlsbad, CA, was enrolling 2,000 patients in a clinical trial funded by a $26.3 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Back in February, Henry “Hank” Nordhoff, executive chairman of Banyan, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that it was opening the office in Carlsbad to find skilled employees in diagnostics, but the research will remain in Gainesville because the company is working with the University of Florida.
Researchers “who discovered proteins from the breakdown of dying brain cells in the blood” founded the company at the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute in 2002, the Gainesville Sun reported.
Following a brain injury, a destructive cascade of biological events continue over hours and days that may worsen the patient’s condition, the Company Fact Sheet shows. This cascade includes the activation of two enzymes, calpain and caspase, which breakdown proteins in brain cells, resulting in progressive damage and death of brain tissue.[1]
The company has developed unique biomarkers present in a patient’s blood following injury to the brain. The detection and quantification of these biomarkers may provide early indications of brain trauma essential for earlier intervention and management. To learn more, visit www.banyanbio.com.
