Industrial Impact
Globenewswire | July 25, 2023
Tango Therapeutics, Inc. a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to discovering and delivering the next generation of precision cancer medicines, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in the phase 1/2 trial evaluating TNG260 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with STK11-mutant cancers. TNG260 is a first-in-class inhibitor of the CoREST complex .
“The TNG260 phase 1/2 clinical trial is the first trial to use genetic patient selection in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy to reverse the cancer-specific immune evasion caused by STK11 loss of function mutations. Resistance to immunotherapy is a major challenge faced by patients with STK11-mutant cancers, which TNG260 is specifically designed to overcome,” said Adam Crystal, M.D., Ph.D., President of Research and Development of Tango Therapeutics. “Our pipeline of precision oncology treatments based on synthetic lethality has advanced significantly this year, as we now have initiated three clinical trials.”
The phase 1/2 trial will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics and efficacy of TNG260, with a one cycle single agent run-in phase to evaluate the safety and PK of TNG260, in combination with pembrolizumab, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors with an STK11 loss-of-function mutation. STK11 loss-of-function mutations occur in approximately 15% of non-small cell lung cancer, 15% of cervical, 10% of carcinoma of unknown primary, 5% of breast and 3% of pancreatic cancers. Based on preclinical xenograft studies and retrospective clinical analyses, the majority of STK11-mutant cancers are thought to have primary resistance to checkpoint inhibition.
The CoREST complex plays a central role in regulating immunomodulatory signaling in STK11-mutant cancers. In preclinical studies, TNG260 reverses the immune evasion effect of STK11 loss-of-function mutations, restoring sensitivity to an anti-PD-1 antibody, inducing complete remissions in the majority of animals and creating immune memory that prevents re-implantation and regrowth of the tumor.
In April 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track designation for TNG260 in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody for the treatment of patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer with STK11-mutations.
About Tango Therapeutics
Tango Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to discovering novel drug targets and delivering the next generation of precision medicine for the treatment of cancer. Using an approach that starts and ends with patients, Tango leverages the genetic principle of synthetic lethality to discover and develop therapies that take aim at critical targets in cancer. This includes expanding the universe of precision oncology targets into novel areas such as tumor suppressor gene loss and their contribution to the ability of cancer cells to evade immune cell killing.
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MedTech, Medical
Businesswire | August 22, 2023
NanoString Technologies, Inc. a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research,
The seminal research led by Alexander Loupy, MD, Ph.D., in cooperation with a global medical team, unravels the complex molecular characteristics of antibody-mediated rejection following the first and second-ever pig-to-human kidney transplants that occurred in 2021 at NYU Langone Transplant Institute. In an accompanying Lancet commentary, scientists praised the team “for laying the foundation for deeper assessment of xenoimmunology and establishing immunological research pathways to advance xenotransplantation.” They also commented on the importance of “state-of-the-art spatial techniques” to decipher transcriptional immune activation.
“We gained vital data and, for the first time ever, we were able to see what is happening immunologically in defined regions of the tissue,” said Dr. Loupy. “This data, enabled by NanoString’s platforms and an Allo - Xeno gene expression repository, allowed us to understand both the similarities and the novel aspects underpinning organ rejection in xenograft transplantation compared to human organ transplantation. NanoString’s nCounter and GeoMx instruments harmonized to create a holistic view of the immune response.” Researchers from the Paris Institute for Transplantation and Organ Regeneration, University of Paris, France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research contributed to the study.
Xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting organs from animals to humans, is a crucial area of research dedicated to addressing the profound shortage of healthy human organs available for transplant patients. The groundbreaking experimental transplant surgeries performed by Dr. Robert Montgomery at NYU since 2021 involve patients in a state of brain death. Their families and ethical committees have consented to artificially maintain blood circulation during the transplants to advance scientific knowledge on xenotransplantation with the hope of offering more healthy organs for future patients.
The research team, including co-first authors of The Lancet study, Dr. Valentin Goutaudier and Dr. Alessia Giarraputto characterized the human immune response to the porcine kidney using bulk tissue transcriptome profiling on the nCounter Analysis System. Scientists used the nCounter Human Organ Transplant Panel, a process NanoString developed with the Banff International Classification Consortium. It is used by nearly one hundred global research institutions. The panel was adapted to xenotransplants by using bioinformatics-based pig and human gene sequences with homologies alignment. This analysis revealed a molecular architecture of antibody-mediated rejection, including interferon-gamma response, endothelial activation, macrophage activation, and injury repair response in the xenografts.
The GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler was used next to isolate the immune response to specific regions of the kidney. The GeoMx Whole Transcriptome Assay revealed that antibody-mediated injury was mainly located in the glomeruli of xenografts, with significant enrichment of transcripts associated with monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and NK cells.
Drs. Loupy and Montgomery say their findings represent a treasure trove of new information for optimizing genetically modified pig models that may be useful in developing more advanced immunosuppressive treatments for future recipients of xenografts.
“An estimated 100,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in the United States. Thousands die on the wait list. Numbers like these drive us at NanoString to provide researchers with the tools they need to find innovative solutions to solve extraordinary medical challenges,” commented Brad Gray, President and CEO of NanoString. “We congratulate Dr. Loupy and his extended team on their findings and celebrate the on-going successful studies in humans.”
About NanoString Technologies, Inc.
NanoString Technologies, is a leader in spatial biology, offers an ecosystem of innovative discovery and translational research solutions, empowering our customers to map the universe of biology. The GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler is a flexible and consistent solution combining the power of whole tissue imaging with gene expression and protein data for spatial whole transcriptomics and proteomics. The CosMx™ Spatial Molecular Imager is a single-cell imaging platform powered by spatial multiomics enabling researchers to map single cells in their native environments to extract deep biological insights and novel discoveries from one experiment. The AtoMx™ Spatial Informatics Platform is a cloud-based informatics solution with advanced analytics and global collaboration capabilities, enabling powerful spatial biology insights anytime, anywhere. At the foundation of our research tools is our nCounter® Analysis System, which offers a secure way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, proteins, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision.
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Cell and Gene Therapy, MedTech
PRNewswire | June 30, 2023
Eurofins Genomics Blue Heron is thrilled to announce the launch of our cutting-edge IVT mRNA Synthesis Service. With this revolutionary service, we aim to offer a game-changing solution to the challenges of gene expression research.
The new service offers a comprehensive solution for researchers seeking high-quality, customizable mRNA synthesis with fast turnaround times. The IVT mRNA Synthesis Service is based on the latest in vitro transcription (IVT) technology, which allows for the rapid and efficient synthesis of high-quality messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts.
The IVT mRNA Synthesis Service has been designed to meet the needs of scientists in a wide range of fields, including molecular biology, drug discovery, vaccine development, and gene therapy. With our service, researchers can customize mRNA transcripts to suit their specific research needs, including modifying the sequence, length, and purity of the mRNA.
Our cutting-edge IVT mRNA Synthesis Service offers
High-quality mRNA synthesis for a wide range of applications
Fast turnaround times and delivery options
Customizable mRNA synthesis to meet specific research needs
Competitive pricing to fit all budgets
A dedicated team of experts to assist with all aspects of the synthesis process
"We are excited to offer this groundbreaking service to the scientific community," said Isaiah Chuang, President of Eurofins Genomics Blue Heron. "Our IVT mRNA Synthesis Service is a game-changer for researchers seeking to advance their work in gene expression research, drug discovery, and beyond. We look forward to partnering with researchers to help them achieve their goals."
About Eurofins Genomics
Eurofins Genomics US is a leading provider of DNA synthesis, sequencing services, and gene synthesis. The company's strengths are its speed, quality, and commitment to customers, which include the pharma, diagnostics, food, agriculture, biotechnological and research sector.
About Eurofins Scientific
Eurofins Scientific, through its subsidiaries (hereinafter "Eurofins" or "the Group"), believes it is a global leader in food, environmental, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products testing and in agroscience CRO services. It is also one of the global independent market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for genomics, discovery pharmacology, forensics, CDMO, advanced material sciences and in the support of clinical studies. In addition, Eurofins is one of the leading global emerging players in esoteric clinical diagnostic testing. With over 61,000 staff across a network of more than 900 independent companies in over 54 countries generally specialised by end client markets and operating more than 1000 laboratories, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods to evaluate the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of biological substances and products, as well as providing innovative clinical diagnostic testing services. The Group's objective is to provide customers with high-quality and innovative services, accurate results on time and, when requested, expert advice by its highly-qualified staff.
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