Orion Genomics, which develops cancer screening tests, entered into a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement with Johns Hopkins University to commercialize Orion's lead cancer risk assessment product enabling the company to enter the market in the near future, the company announced Wednesday.

Orion now has the rights to the insulin-like growth factor 2 gene (IGF2) for colorectal cancer that is designed to identify people who carry the IGF2 biomarker, which increases their risks of developing sporadic colorectal cancer. Being able to test at-risk patients significantly earlier allows physicians to remove precancerous polyps and prevent future colon cancer, according to the company.

"Our colorectal cancer risk test has the potential to save lives by identifying a group of high risk individuals who are likely to develop colorectal cancer at a younger age, and who should undergo colonoscopy screening 10 to 20 years earlier than the age that is currently recommended," Nathan Lakey, president and CEO of Orion Genomics, said in a statement.

Colorectal cancer is the second most deadly cancer claiming more than 52,000 lives in 2007 in the U.S., with treatment costs for colorectal cancer estimated to exceed $8 billion per year, according to Lakey.

St. Louis-based Orion Genomics develops molecular diagnostic products to detect cancer at its earliest stages and to aid in appropriate therapy selection.