The University of South Carolina has agreed to license an algorithm developed by a renowned cancer and nutritional epidemiologist to a health sciences company that offers home cancer screening tests in a deal announced Tuesday (May 12).
20/20 Biolabs Inc. will commercialize a patented technology developed by James Hébert, director of the S.C. Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program and Health Sciences Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, to assess health risks from rising levels of prostate-specific antigen. PSA is a molecule that naturally exists in the normal prostate, but when levels rise over a period of several years, it signals prostate cancer. The analysis is part of a multi-cancer early detection blood test, called OneTest for Cancer, developed by 20/20 Biolabs.
Hébert’s algorithm will analyze results from multiple OneTest results taken over time to determine if a user is likely to have aggressive prostate cancer that is likely to kill if left untreated. This test provides a noninvasive early warning to men to take a potentially lethal cancer seriously while also reassuring others whose PSA values indicate a nonaggressive cancer or a benign prostate condition. Depending on results, users could take the test every year with a definitive assessment coming after three tests.
“I am pleased that this highly effective method for detecting aggressive prostate cancer is being made available to the public through 2020 Biolab’s OneTest for Cancer,” Hébert said.
“This partnership highlights the critical role universities play in driving innovation and economic growth. By moving discoveries like Dr. Hébert’s algorithm into the marketplace, we are advancing both public health and the development of high-impact health technologies,” said Stephen J. Cutler, USC’s vice president for economic development.
“This license adds an important longitudinal risk assessment tool to OneTest for Cancer and supports our broader mission of making early cancer detection more accessible, affordable, and actionable,” said Jonathan Cohen, chief executive officer of 20/20 BioLabs. “Prostate cancer screening has long faced the challenge of identifying clinically meaningful risk while avoiding unnecessary concern or follow-up for men with less aggressive conditions. We believe Dr. Hébert’s work can help address that challenge by adding deeper analytical context to PSA results over time.”
The licensing came together through the USC Office of Economic Engagement’s Technology Commercialization Office, which works to advance USC innovations by partnering university researchers with industry leaders.
“Collaborations like this exemplify how university discoveries can move from the lab to the marketplace,” said Chase Kasper, deputy director of the Office of Econimic Engagement, who oversees the technology transfer and licensing efforts program at USC. “We are excited that our industrial partners can incorporate innovations from USC’s research enterprise and translate them into greater applications, products and services for the public benefit.”
Hébert and 20/20 BioLabs plan on conducting joint research to develop similar algorithms to assess potential risks for ovarian and pancreatic cancers.
Hébert has a separate arrangement with 20/20 BioLabs through his Columbia-based USC spinoff company, Connecting Health Innovations LLC , which uses his highly regarded and widely used Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) that scores a diet’s effect on inflammation in a product called OneTest for Longevity. 20/20 BioLabs also is developing an AI avatar of Hébert that will allow test users to take advantage of his research findings and expertise by asking questions on improving their diet.
About 20/20 BioLabs
20/20 BioLabs Inc. (Nasdaq: AIDX) develops and commercializes AI-powered, laboratory-based blood tests for the early detection and prevention of cancers and chronic diseases. The company offers two families of lab tests under the OneTest brand. OneTest™ for Cancer is a multi-cancer early detection, or MCED, blood test, and OneTest for Longevity, which measures inflammatory biomarkers, launched in February 2026. OneTest’s affordable, accurate, actionable tests can be conveniently accessed at home using new, upper arm collection devices that avoid painful needles. Tests are run in its College of American Pathologists-accredited, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments licensed laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
20/20 BioLabs’ pioneering Clinical Laboratory Innovation Accelerator, or CLIAx, is a shared CLIA laboratory for overseas diagnostics startups seeking to launch novel lab tests in the U.S. without the expense of establishing and operating their own, independent lab. The company’s legacy business also includes a pioneering field test kit for screening suspicious powders for bioterror agents known as BioCheck. For more information visit 2020biolabs.com.
About the University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a globally recognized, high-impact research university committed to a superior student experience and dedicated to innovation in learning, research and community engagement. Founded in 1801, the university is a top-tier Carnegie Foundation research institution offering more than 350 academic degree programs, including distinguished programs in engineering, law, medicine, nursing, public health and the arts. More than 50,000 students are enrolled at one of 20 locations throughout the state, including the research campus in Columbia. With the nation’s top first-year experience, best public honors college and 60 nationally ranked academic programs — including top-ranked programs in international business — the university is helping to build healthier, more educated communities in South Carolina and around the world.