For decades, a traditional “circular loop” has defined the elite tier of scientific careers: secure a grant, publish a paper, and use that paper to secure the next grant. It is a noble pursuit of knowledge, but for Dr. Samuel Lundin, it wasn’t enough.

After twenty years as a scientist, and seven as a professor of immunology, Lundin made the rare jump from the lecture hall to the boardroom. The catalyst? A realisation that his deep understanding of the human immune system could solve a “ticking time bomb” affecting half the global population.

“I didn’t want the knowledge we produce to stay in a journal,” Lundin says. “I wanted to get the technology into the hands of clinicians where it could actually save a life.”

That mission birthed Biotome, a Perth-based biotech firm that is turning stomach cancer (the fourth deadliest cancer globally, claiming 700,000 lives annually) from a terminal diagnosis into a preventable condition.

To understand Biotome’s breakthrough, one must understand the ubiquity of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Roughly 50% of the world carries this stomach bacteria. For most, it is a harmless passenger; for others, it is the primary driver of gastric cancer.

The clinical “blind spot” has always been differentiation. Current diagnostic tests can tell if a patient has the bacteria, but they cannot distinguish between a benign strain and the high-risk “dangerous” versions that carry the CagA protein—the molecular signature of possible future malignancy.

“H. pylori is a necessary cause for gastric cancer, but it isn’t always sufficient,” Lundin explains. “Current tests are essentially too blunt. They detect antibodies to any part of the bacteria, leading to a lack of specificity that forces doctors to either over-treat with unnecessary antibiotics or, worse, miss the patients at genuine risk.”

Biotome’s lead product, Helitope, shifts the paradigm from broad detection to “Precision Immunology.” Instead of looking for the whole bacteria, the test utilises peptide augmentation to target tiny, specific parts of the protein—acting as a “molecular key” to unlock a more accurate diagnosis.

By identifying antibodies to these high-risk peptides, Helitope provides a clinical risk assessment that Lundin claims is 10 times more sensitive than traditional peptide-serology. In a recent study the test achieved an astonishing 95% accuracy in identifying those carrying the high risk bacteria.

“If we can implement this as a screening tool in a patient’s 30s or 40s, we can identify the danger before the cancer even begins to form,” says Lundin. “You treat the infection with a simple course of antibiotics, and you effectively return that patient’s cancer risk to baseline.”

Institutional credibility is the bedrock of biotech investing, and Biotome boasts a heavyweight advantage. The company’s team includes Professor Barry Marshall, the Nobel Laureate who famously discovered the link between H. pylori and stomach ulcers by drinking a culture of the bacteria himself.

Marshall’s involvement is more than just a name on a masthead; his global network of clinical cohorts and deep expertise in the field has allowed Biotome to de-risk its development path at a fraction of the cost of its peers.

From an investment perspective, Biotome is playing in a massive, underserved market. Beyond the clinical efficacy of Helitope, Biotome’s peptide platform is built for commercial scale:

Biotome is currently transitioning from its “research use” phase toward full clinical validation. For investors, this represents the classic value inflection point.

As the company moves toward global regulatory filings and broader clinical adoption, it stands as a lean, high-precision alternative to the “unspecific” legacy tests that currently dominate the market. In a sector where early detection is the “holy grail” of oncology, Biotome isn’t just selling a test; it’s selling the ability to stop a cancer before it starts.

“Success for us is impacting people’s lives around the world,” Lundin concludes. “We’ve taken twenty years of academic rigor and turned it into a tangible tool. Now, it’s about the rollout.”

The Bottom Line: With stomach cancer symptoms often appearing too late for effective treatment, Biotome’s 95% accurate screening could shift the Standard of Care globally. For those looking for “hot zone” timing in life sciences, the move from academic validation to clinical implementation marks Biotome as a key player to watch at the upcoming Emergence 2026 conference.