OncoImmunity and the NCGC at Oslo University Hospital, announce today that they have entered into a collaboration with the American Sarcoma Alliance for Research through collaboration (SARC), to search for neoantigen and related biomarker signatures of response in clinical trial on sarcoma patients treated with pembrolizumab.
The collaboration is based on a phase II clinical trial of pembrolizumab in patients with soft-tissue sarcoma and osteosarcoma. The project will be financed by Merck Sharp & Dohme and OncoImmunity, and is also supported by the Norwegian Research Council and the NCGC research platform (see http://cancergenomics.no).
The project will harness the combined expertise from NCGC and the genomics core-facility at OUH, the OUH sarcoma group, and OncoImmunity's novel software, to reliably identify tumor specific immunogenic neoantigens(i.e. mutated proteins seen as foreign by the patient's own immune system).
Sarcoma is an orphan cancer with limited treatment options, and we are proud and excited to investigate the potential of the new immune-targeting therapies for these patients. Since these are very costly treatments, being able to predict responders is going to be critical for clinical implementation said Professor Ola Myklebost
The MSD sponsored trial is the first time pembrolizumab has been profiled in a phase II clinical trial in patients with sarcoma. The objective of the project is to identify novel biomarkers that can predict whether a patient will respond positively to pembrolizumab.
This collaboration is an exciting opportunity for OncoImmunity to apply its proprietary immuno-informatics platform and demonstrate its utility for neoantigen biomarker discovery with a key player in the immuno-oncology field" said Richard Stratford Chief Executive Officer at OncoImmunity
About OncoImmunity:
OncoImmunity is a Norwegian bioinformatics company offering proprietary machine-learning based software to address the key knowledge gaps in the prediction of bone fide immunogenic neoantigens for personalized cancer immunotherapy. OncoImmunity's software will facilitate effective patient selection for cancer immunotherapy, and identify optimal neoantigen targets for truly personalized cancer vaccines & cell therapies in a clinically actionable time-frame.
About NCGC:
Norwegian Cancer Genomics Consortium (NCGC) is a national research collaboration consisting of clinicians and specialized cancer research groups from all Norwegian health regions. The participants collaborate on two large research projects, focused on cancer genomics, the analysis of mutations in tumor DNA, and how these contribute to cancer development and progression, can be used to stratify patients for treatment, or can be directly targeted by new treatment strategies. The projects, which have received 75 M NOK in funding from the Norwegian Research Council, also aim to establish new clinical practices for cancer treatment. More information on cancergenomics.no
About SARC:
SARC (Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and support of research for the prevention, treatment, and cure of sarcomas a cancer of the bone and connective tissue of the body.
Recognizing the value of pooling their intellectual and patient resources, a core group of medical and pediatric sarcoma experts at five major medical facilities formed SARC in 2003 to conduct innovative and rigorous sarcoma research to advance the care of their patients. Their operations office is in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
For further information please contact:
Richard Stratford (OncoImmunity) richard@oncoimmunity.com
Professor Ola Myklebost (NCGC) ola.myklebost@uib.no
