SUFFERN, NY (June 14, 2022) – CDx Diagnostics, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with laboratory benefits management provider Avalon Healthcare Solutions, Inc. of Tampa, Fla. The agreement means that CDx will be an in-network specialty anatomic pathology laboratory of Avalon client BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, and builds on Avalon’s positive medical policy for CDx’s proprietary diagnostic platform, WATS3D.
Short for wide-area transepithelial sampling with three-dimensional analysis, WATS3D utilizes enhanced tissue acquisition, 3D imaging with AI-powered analysis, and expert pathologists to reliably detect Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and esophageal dysplasia. Effective immediately, the agreement makes WATS3D available to the 565,000 members of BCBS of South Carolina with all commercial and Medicare Advantage plans.
“At CDx, we’re driven to empower physicians to preempt esophageal cancer and improve patient lives,” said Bill Huffnagle, CEO of CDx Diagnostics. “This new agreement with Avalon brings modern, proven diagnostic technology to more than half a million more members. We will work together to bring this potentially lifesaving technology to additional payors and the members they serve.”
WATS3D technology helps clinicians overcome the limitations associated with traditional upper endoscopy screening and surveillance methods, by combining a specially designed brush, unique 3D imaging powered by AI, and a team of trained GI pathologists. In large multicenter clinical studies, WATS3D has been found to significantly increase the detection rate of BE and esophageal dysplasia, both treatable precursors to esophageal cancer, one of the fastest growing and most fatal cancers in the United States.
WATS3D testing meets the five pillars of evidence-based medicine typically required by insurance payors: analytic validity, clinical validity, clinical utility, cost-effectiveness, and recommendations by major medical societies. The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), and the American Foregut Society (AFS) each currently include WATS3D testing in their recommendations.
Since 2019, the ASGE has included WATS3D in its Standards of Practice Committee’s guideline for the screening and surveillance of BE. In 2020, the technology was deemed a safe and effective adjunct to forceps biopsies in the evaluation of BE, low-grade dysplasia, and high-grade dysplasia by SAGES Technology and Value Assessment Committee (TAVAC).
