Quebec's own DiagnoCure Inc. , which markets a colorectal cancer screening test, announced Tuesday it hired San Francisco-based JMP Securities to gain some traction in its U.S. subsidiary, DiagnoCure Oncology Laboratories.
The firm is staying mum about what exactly it wants JMP to do, but the U.S. dealer specializes in health care.
DiagnoCure's stock has moved sideways since the start of 2009. After trying to gain ground in Canada, the firm now sees much more potential south of the border where insurance companies are more willing to experiment with new procedures. Tuesday's announcement came after Valerie Palmieri was recently hired in April to head the U.S. operations.
In 2008 DiagnoCure launched a new colorectal screening test, known as Previstage, that screens colon tumours and the lymph nodes. The company said currently around 25 per cent of people who have a tumour in this region are told that the cancer hasn't spread, even though it actually has, because current screening measures aren't advanced enough. To prevent this, DiagnoCure's test looks much deeper into the tissue.
Tim Kiladze