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High-sensitivity test for lung cancer detection

Healthcare product naming and strategy

Background & Challenge

In recent years, bioscience firms have made tremendous breakthroughs in the development of cancer testing, particularly liquid biopsies. This noninvasive approach, in which blood is tested for pieces of DNA from tumor cells, has many benefits—earlier testing, diagnosis, and treatment; more specific results; and greater adoption by the public because of its convenience. DELFI Diagnostics developed a platform that takes liquid biopsy even further, using machine-learning algorithms to analyze fragments of cell-free DNA to accurately detect cancer from a single blood sample. It is relatively inexpensive and noninvasive, leading to greater accessibility and patient compliance and therefore more early detection and treatment, particularly for underserved populations. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths domestically and globally, yet only 6% of eligible individuals in the US get screened, which is why DELFI made lung cancer the target of the first in its line of test products based on the platform. 

The company engaged Catchword to develop a naming strategy that would organize its evolving family of products and create a name for the debut line of screening products. The name needed to appeal equally to physicians and consumers, pair well with DELFI, establish a naming convention for future products, and be available, and understandable, worldwide (no small feat in a competitive space like healthcare).

Naming Strategy

Our first recommendation was to make the capitalization of Delfi the company (whose name was written with an initial cap) and DELFI the platform (all caps) consistent. Since the platform name was roughly an acronym (DNA EvaLuation of Fragments for early Interception) and had appeared in the scientific literature in all caps, we suggested using that form, which the company adopted.

Given that the company envisioned that later phases of platform-based products would expand beyond cancer screening to other types of diagnostics and disease monitoring, and that each product would have versions targeted to different types of cancer, we recommended that each product line have a short, distinct name that would pair easily with DELFI and be followed by a single-word descriptor for the disease type.

Client
DELFI
DELFI
Industry
Health & Biotech
Service
Naming Strategy
 Product Naming
FirstLookFeaturedImage2_1800x695.jpg
Naming the First Line

We explored a number of naming styles and messaging areas that would reach both busy physicians (who want a practical and professional name that communicates the product’s function and benefits immediately) and consumers/patients (who need a smart yet friendly name that strongly reassures them that taking this test will be easy and in their best interest). DELFI FirstLook does it all. An intuitive, approachable name that’s easy to say, spell, and remember for people with even minimal English. The line both provides the earliest look into possible cancer and is the first screening product of its kind. And it’s both a shorthand for the early detection the test provides and a call to action: “First look” (then treat).

Outcome

DELFI FirstLook Lung launched in October 2023 as the first liquid biopsy test in the US with a high-sensitivity for early lung cancer detection. The product established DELFI as a leading innovator in the space, and the name created an easy-to-use yet robust naming convention for future DELFI products. In April 2024, DELFI announced its collaboration with City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the US, to use FirstLook Lung to help improve screening rates in underserved communities in Los Angeles County. The test will be offered free to eligible trial participants.

"Our whole-genome machine learning platform is designed to be widely scalable for flexible global deployment. FirstLook Lung is the first of a deep pipeline of tests that we are developing for an array of cancers as well as to monitor the progress of cancer treatments."

Jenn Buechel, DELFI President and Chief Operating Officer

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