DIAGNOSTICS
Lucid Diagnostics | March 25, 2022
Lucid Diagnostics Inc., a commercial-stage cancer prevention diagnostics company and a majority-owned subsidiary of PAVmed Inc, announced that investigators at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center had enrolled their first patient in a Department of Defense ("DoD")- Katarina B. Greer, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, is the lead investigator of the research. Lucid supplies the study with EsoCheck® Esophageal Cell Collection Devices and will conduct EsoGuard testing on the obtained samples.
We are proud to be partnering with Dr. Greer and the Cleveland VA on this important investigator-initiated clinical study, The study will add important clinical evidence on the impact of EsoGuard in enhancing early detection of esophageal precancer to prevent esophageal cancer deaths by reserving endoscopy for those with a positive EsoGuard test.”
Lishan Aklog, M.D., Lucid’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Despite strong clinical practice guideline recommendations, endoscopy has had limited success as a widespread screening tool for Barrett’s Esophagus (BE), a precursor for esophageal adenocarcinoma, a highly lethal form of esophageal cancer, We hope to demonstrate that a strategy that incorporates initial office-based non-endoscopic testing of at-risk patients with EsoGuard improves endoscopy yield and overall cost-effectiveness.”
Dr. Greer.
Only around 10% of at-risk GERD patients advised for esophageal precancer (BE) screening undergo traditional, invasive upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (EGD). Over 80% of people who undergo EGD screening have a negative result, subjecting the overwhelming majority of these patients to a complicated, invasive, expensive, and inconvenient surgery requiring anesthesia in a specialist procedure center or hospital. EsoGuard has been demonstrated to be 90% sensitive and specific for identifying esophageal precancer and cancer when done on EsoCheck samples, potentially removing the bulk of these negative EGDs, benefiting patients, providers, and the healthcare system.
The trial will include up to 100 Cleveland VA patients who meet the American College of Gastroenterology's criteria for esophageal pre-cancer screening. The research compares two screening strategies: (1) regular EGD screening; and (2) EsoGuard testing followed by EGD exclusively in individuals with a positive EsoGuard result. The trial will determine if utilizing EsoGuard to triage patients to EGD improves overall BE screening rates and decreases the number of EGDs with negative screening results. Additionally, the research will analyze the economic implications for the VA system of these two options.
Read More
MEDICAL
Mission Bio | March 30, 2022
Mission Bio, Inc., a pioneer in high-throughput single-cell DNA and multi-omics research, announced the commercial availability of the Tapestri Solution for Solid Tumor Research. On the Tapestri Platform, this new end-to-end single-cell DNA sequencing process comprises a nuclei isolation prep technique, pre-designed research panels for breast cancer and glioblastoma multiforme, and an enhanced single-cell copy number variation (CNV) bioinformatic analysis tool. Mission Bio currently covers solid tumors in addition to hematologic malignancies, where Tapestri is widely used to study tumor heterogeneity and gain new insights into the clonal variety and architecture driving disease progression, biomarkers, and therapeutic management.
Recent high-profile research studies utilizing custom Tapestri assays for breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanoma have demonstrated the utility of high-resolution tools for assessing solid tumor heterogeneity and clonal evolution, which contribute to disease onset, progression, and relapse. However, bulk next-generation sequencing technologies cannot offer the cell-by-cell mutational data required to detect disease-causing biological drivers — they are confined to population-level average metrics and lack information on clonal diversity.
Tapestri quantifies DNA mutations at the individual cell level in thousands of cells simultaneously, simultaneously detecting SNVs, indels, and CNVs, conclusively identifying variant zygosity and mutational co-occurrence recognizing unusual cell populations. As a result, researchers studying solid tumors may now make use of a comprehensive workflow designed for the Tapestri Platform, which includes the following:
Sample preparation assistance with an enhanced nuclei isolation process for both fresh and frozen samples
New study panels for breast cancer and glioblastoma were meticulously selected to contain hotspot genes, copy number variants, and chromosomal arm aneuploidies linked with each illness. Additionally, users may create custom panels that target specific human or mouse genome regions.
Enhanced capacity for CNV bioinformatics analysis with the development of a new visualization tool (in collaboration with Mission Bio's Field Application Scientist team).
This integrated workflow approach has the potential to significantly advance our knowledge of disease progression and enable the development of more specific medicines.
The commercial introduction of Mission Bio's Tapestri Solution for Solid Tumor Research demonstrates the company's ongoing commitment to allowing more precise cancer research using single-cell DNA sequencing. In addition, mission Bio has announced the establishment of its first Center of Excellence for solid tumor single-cell DNA profiling at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).
The impressive results already seen from our early work with solid tumor researchers helped guide the development of these new workflows and underscored our commitment to providing unique and indispensable tools for solid tumor researchers. Just as Tapestri has been an invaluable tool for hematologic malignancy researchers, we're confident that our research panel pair, new prep protocol, and improved bioinformatics analysis capabilities will demonstrate the platform's value in solid tumors."
CEO of Mission Bio, Yan Zhang, Ph.D., said.
Read More
RESEARCH
PostEra | January 12, 2022
PostEra, a biotechnology company specializing in machine learning for preclinical drug discovery, announced the expansion of the company's existing strategic collaboration with Pfizer. The expanded multi-target research program will establish an AI Lab where PostEra and Pfizer jointly advance multiple drug discovery programs with an initial focus in oncology and COVID-19 antiviral therapeutics. The AI Lab will leverage novel machine learning for medicinal chemistry built upon Pfizer's data, and PostEra's pioneering innovations in generative chemistry and synthesis-aware design.
PostEra will receive an upfront payment of $13M and is eligible to receive additional milestone payments totalling up to $248M should all milestones be achieved, in addition to tiered royalties on any approved products arising out of the collaboration.
The AI Lab will tightly integrate drug discovery with technology development to ensure a continuous feedback loop that refines both the process and predictions from the platform. The vision of the AI Lab is to combine Pfizer's expertise and data with PostEra's technology to advance these drug discovery programs, while also producing an integrated state-of-the-art platform to be deployed across Pfizer's in-house, preclinical drug discovery efforts.
"We think the best way to build leading technology is to have its development tightly integrated with live drug discovery programs", said Dr. Alpha Lee, Chief Scientific Officer of PostEra. "We're pleased that we are expanding the existing collaboration to do exactly this and to reap the AI advantage in improving preclinical drug discovery,"
Aaron Morris, CEO of PostEra
"At Pfizer, we believe digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, hold great potential to aid the discovery of novel approaches to prevent, cure, and treat disease for patients in need," said Charlotte Allerton, Head of Medicine Design, Pfizer. "We're excited to extend our collaboration with PostEra to further build on our current capabilities."
The company today also announced its $24M Series A financing. The new funding will enable PostEra to further expand its partnered drug discovery programs, initiate internal drug discovery programs, as well as further develop its AI-first medicinal chemistry platform.
About PostEra
PostEra was founded in 2019 and its technology is built on pioneering academic research done by its founding scientists. PostEra's technology addresses some of the key challenges in drug discovery R&D by integrating molecular design with chemical synthesis. PostEra advances small molecule programs through partnerships with biopharma, working on its own internal pipeline, and also offering some of its synthesis technology via its Manifold web platform. PostEra also launched and now helps lead the world's largest open-science drug discovery effort; COVID Moonshot.
Read More