Agendia Co-Founder Wins European Inventor Award for Breast Cancer Test
Agendia co-founder and Chief Research Officer, Laura van't Veer, Ph.D., has won the European Inventor Award in the SME category. The European Inventor Award is a innovation award presented by the European Patent Office, with only 15 inventors nominated in a total of five categories worldwide.
The molecular biologist is the co-inventor of Agendia's MammaPrint® breast cancer test, a genetic diagnostic test used for breast cancer patients in order to estimate the risk of recurrence up to 20 years into the future. The use of MammaPrint® in patients diagnosed with breast cancer makes it possible to constrain the use of chemotherapy and reduce overtreatment by 30 percent. More than 40,000 women in 34 countries have reaped the benefits of Van’t Veer’s test to date.
The European Patent Office (EPO) nominated Van’t Veer for her pioneering work: she was one of the three finalists for the European Inventor Award 2015 in the SME category. A total of five innovation awards were presented at the end of last week in Palais Brongniart (La Bourse) in Paris, France. The award serves to recognize the fundamental way in which Dr. Van ‘t Veer has changed breast cancer care with her invention, MammaPrint®. These radical changes extend to the treatment method used, the patient’s quality of life, and the healthcare costs involved.
Other news from the department science
