The INNOVATOR study will expand validation of Enlighten across 12 cancers and assess whether capillary blood collection could enable a future laboratory-based test using samples collected at home.
TORRES VEDRAS, Portugal, July 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Proteotype Diagnostics Unipessoal LDA ("Proteotype") today announced INNOVATOR, a €3.023 million European clinical study to expand the evidence base for Enlighten and evaluate a more accessible route to blood collection. The project is supported by approximately €2.116 million through COMPETE 2030, under Portugal 2030 and co-funded by the European Union. It will contribute evidence and capabilities for Proteotype's planned CE marking pathway.
Enlighten is a blood-based multi-cancer test that measures the host response to tumour development. Building on the UK MODERNISED study, which is evaluating 10 cancer types in real-world NHS settings, INNOVATOR will extend the programme to 12 cancer types in Portugal, Spain and Germany. It will recruit 2,000 participants: approximately 1,200 with cancer and 800 controls, including symptomatic and asymptomatic groups.
Together, MODERNISED and INNOVATOR are expected to generate evidence from approximately 3,350 participants in four European countries, broadening validation across healthcare systems and populations while exploring a simpler and more accessible route to sample collection.
The study will collect paired venous and capillary blood samples using a CE-marked Tasso collection device. It will assess the comparability of the paired samples to support a future laboratory-based Enlighten test that could use blood collected at home.
Wesley Sukdao, CEO and Co-Founder of Proteotype Diagnostics, said:
"Growing up in poverty in South Africa and losing close family members to cancers detected too late shaped the ethos behind Proteotype. Scientific progress only changes lives when people can access it. INNOVATOR moves us closer to our goal of making advanced cancer testing affordable, accessible and practical, regardless of where someone lives or the resources available to them."
Dr Emma Yates, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder, said:
"INNOVATOR will allow us to evaluate Enlighten across a broader range of cancers, populations and sample formats. The scale and design of this study are critical to understanding how robustly the biology translates across sample types and clinical settings."
Professor Gonçalo Bernardes, Co-Founder and Chair of Proteotype's Scientific Advisory Board, said:
"This award reflects the momentum behind Enlighten, from fundamental insight into the body's response to cancer to large, clinically focused validation programmes. INNOVATOR combines strong science with a clear translational objective: developing a test that can be deployed at scale."
Professor Luís Costa, Chief Investigator of INNOVATOR, said:
"A multi-country study of this scale offers an important opportunity to generate clinically meaningful evidence across diverse patient groups. The paired-sample design will help determine whether capillary collection can support reliable testing and, ultimately, reduce practical barriers to cancer detection."
The INNOVATOR project is scheduled to begin on 1 October 2026, with participant recruitment expected to start following the required ethics, regulatory and site approvals. The study is expected to conclude by the end of 2028.
The project will also expand Proteotype's team in Torres Vedras. The company is recruiting for full-time Senior Trial Manager, Quality & Regulatory Affairs Specialist, Systems & Cloud Engineering and Full Stack Engineer roles, alongside further opportunities across clinical, laboratory and corporate operations.
About Proteotype Diagnostics
Proteotype is a pioneering diagnostics company dedicated to the development of advanced multi-cancer early detection and personalised medicine tests that measure the host response to tumour development. Its lead product, Enlighten, is being evaluated as an accessible and scalable multi-cancer test designed to support earlier investigation and better-informed clinical decision-making.
Media contact: pr@proteotype.com
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