By targeting chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to a senescence marker, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have developed a CAR T cell that had beneficial effects in mouse models of both liver fibrosis and lung cancer.
On June 17, the FDA approved checkpoint blocker Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.) “for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) [?10 mutations/megabase (mut/Mb)] solid tumors, as determined by an FDA-approved test, that have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.”
HONG KONG – China and U.S.-based Lisen Imprinting Diagnostics Inc. has unveiled its Quantitative Chromogenic Imprinted Gene In-Situ Hybridization (QCIGISH) technology, a novel approach for identifying, visualizing and quantifying the biallelic and multiallelic expressions of an imprinted gene panel associated with cancer status.
Creatv Microtech Inc. has developed a simple blood test that can predict response to chemoradiation and consolidated immunotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Whole genome sequencing is not part of treating patients in practice – or even involved in most clinical trials of drug candidates. But C2i Genomics Inc. is working to make that a reality. It applies pattern recognition to whole genome sequencing to create an individualized fingerprint for a given patient’s tumor. The New York-based startup has raised a $12 million series A round to back the development of its technology, which came out of Cornell and the New York Genome Center.
Dead cancer cells in the body are thought to help trigger an active immune response in oncology patients, particularly in combination with immunotherapy drugs. Some technologies, such as radiation and laser therapy, that kill cancer cells are being investigated for use in combination with immunotherapies. Well-regarded oncology specialist The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has partnered with Rakuten Medical Inc. to further advance one such technology, the latter’s photoimmunotherapy platform Illuminox.
A long-term clinical trial comparing minimally invasive cryoablation to surgery to treat early stage kidney cancer patients has found that the former offers comparable rates of survival and fewer complications. Johns Hopkins researchers published the 10-year survival data for 134 patients in the June 9, 2020, issue of Radiology.
Hong Kong – South Korea’s Lunit Inc. is currently in the process of applying for U.S. FDA approval for Lunit Insight Mmg, its AI software that analyzes mammography images to detect breast cancer. Other markets that the company targets entering include South America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, Jussarang Lee, communications manager at Lunit, told BioWorld. Founded in 2013, the Seoul-based company uses artificial intelligence to develop cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
Tel Aviv-based Alpha Tau Medical Ltd. raised $26 million in a series B financing. The round was led by previous investors, Savit Capital, Medison Ventures, and Ourcrowd, as well as new private and family office investors hailing from North America and Israel. The new funds will be used to continue trials of the company's Alpha DaRT (Diffusing Alpha Radiation Emitters Therapy) alpha-radiation cancer therapy for solid tumors and expand manufacturing facilities.
LONDON – Base Genomics Ltd. has raised $11 million in an oversubscribed seed round to commercialize a new liquid biopsy technology for detecting DNA methylation, invented in the U.K. at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at Oxford University.