Biohit Oyj Press release
Helsinki, 5 November 2026 at 9.00 a.m EET
Blood Test Before Endoscopy Could Save €75 Million Annually
Biohit presents a model at the Major Social and Healthcare Seminar in which the GastroPanel® blood test helps direct gastroscopies to patients who need them.
Finnish diagnostics company Biohit Oyj will present a model today at the Major Social and Healthcare Seminar at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, in which the need for endoscopy in patients with gastric symptoms is first assessed using the GastroPanel® blood test.
According to Biohit's calculations, risk assessment based on a blood test could significantly improve the use of endoscopy capacity, shorten waiting times for patients requiring urgent examinations, and generate an estimated annual savings potential of up to €75 million. The calculations will be presented by Biohit CEO Jussi Hahtela to decision-makers from Finland's wellbeing services counties and healthcare experts.
A significant proportion of patients with upper abdominal symptoms are referred for gastroscopy, even though the examination reveals no clinically significant findings requiring treatment in most cases. Approximately 100,000 gastroscopies are performed annually in Finland.
Under Biohit's proposed model, these patients would first undergo a GastroPanel test, based on which those requiring endoscopy would be selected.
The calculations are based on the finding that approximately 80% of low-risk patients with dyspepsia have no clinically significant findings at gastroscopy (Brooke et al., 2024).
In a study conducted at Oulu University Hospital in Finland, 447 out of 522 patients (86%) had normal GastroPanel results. According to the researchers, gastroscopy could be targeted at fewer than 10% of patients (Koivurova et al., 2025).
GastroPanel is a blood test developed by Biohit that provides information about the condition of the stomach lining before a decision is made about endoscopy. It measures pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and Helicobacter pylori antibodies.
Biohit will present the model and GastroPanel at stand 3 during the seminar.
"Additional resources are not coming into healthcare. This is a harsh economic fact. The silver lining is that by leveraging health technology, existing resources can be allocated precisely to those who need them. When the condition of the stomach is known through a blood test before deciding on endoscopy, the same amount of money delivers more health benefits and waiting lists become shorter," says Jussi Hahtela, CEO of Biohit Oyj.
The Major Social and Healthcare Seminar is organised by the Association of Private Healthcare Providers (Lääkäripalveluyritykset ry) and Näe ry, the Finnish Association for Vision and Eye Health, on Thursday, 5 November 2026, at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki.
Information for the media
Assumptions underlying the calculations
| Current situation Blood test first | ||
| Patients examined | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| GastroPanel® tests (€50) | 0 | 100,000 |
| Gastroscopies (€1,000) | 100,000 | 20,000 |
| Annual cost | €100 million | €25 million |
The estimate of 100,000 gastroscopies annually is based on an expert estimate published in the Finnish Medical Journal (Färkkilä, 2016).
According to the THL Care Register, 51,341 gastroscopies were performed on adults in 2018. Using the same calculation method, the annual savings would have been approximately €21 million.
Published clinical research evidence
Finland: At Oulu University Hospital, 522 patients referred from primary healthcare for gastroscopy were examined. Agreement between GastroPanel results and biopsy histology was excellent (weighted kappa 0.861). According to the researchers, cost savings of approximately 90% could be achieved by targeting gastroscopy at fewer than 10% of patients (Koivurova et al., 2025).
United Kingdom: In a prospective study conducted at Homerton University Hospital in London involving 268 patients, agreement between GastroPanel results and histology was 90%. The researchers consider GastroPanel a reliable triage test for patients with dyspepsia (Papadia et al., 2025).
India: The GastroPanel® Quick Test was evaluated in 266 patients referred for gastroscopy. The diagnostic accuracy of pepsinogen I was AUC 0.990, and that of the PGI/PGII ratio was 0.971 (Chhabra et al., 2025).
Chile: In the Latin American HOPE Hp-GC programme, a risk algorithm based on GastroPanel biomarkers identified 80.6% of patients with advanced atrophy (OLGA stages III-IV) and all patients with gastric cancer. In the pilot programme, the gastroscopy waiting list at Santa Rosa de Molina Hospital was reduced by 87% (Uribe et al., 2026).
References
- Brooke M et al. Gastroscopy for dyspeptic symptoms in patients under 65 years has a low yield of clinically important findings: a retrospective study. J Can Assoc Gastroenterol. 2024. PMC11149664.
- Chhabra M et al. Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Atrophic Gastritis by Serological Biomarker Test (GastroPanel® Quick Test) in Gastroscopy Referral Patients in India. J Clin Med. 2025;14(3):787. doi:10.3390/jcm14030787
- Koivurova OP et al. Uniformity Between Serological Biomarker Test, Esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy and Biopsy Histology in Triage of Upper Abdominal Symptoms in Gastroscopy Referral Patients. Anticancer Res. 2025;45(12):5491-5501. doi:10.21873/anticanres.17884
- Papadia C et al. Can GastroPanel be used as a triage tool to select patients with advanced atrophic gastritis for gastroscopy? A prospective clinical validation study. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2025;12(1):e001559. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2024-001559
- Uribe J et al. Hope Hp-GC Project: Program Implementation for Primary and Secondary Prevention of Gastric Cancer in Latin America. Helicobacter. 2026;31:e70109. doi:10.1111/hel.70109
About Biohit
Biohit Oyj is a Finnish health technology company founded in 1988, operating in global markets. The diagnostics company develops and commercialises innovations for the diagnosis and monitoring of gastrointestinal diseases.
The company's headquarters and product development operations are located in Helsinki, and it has a subsidiary in the United Kingdom.
Biohit sells its products through a partner network in more than 50 countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Biohit's B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
Further information
Jussi Hahtela CEO, Biohit Oyj
Tel. +358 50 383 5948 jussi.hahtela@biohit.fi
Available for meetings at the seminar, stand 3.
www.biohithealthcare.com
