Oncimmune (ONC ) has signed two new deals with Roche Pharmaceuticals and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to profile patients using its novel Infectious Disease panel.
Investors will recall that the global immunodiagnostics firm received funding to develop and validate an Infectious Disease NavigAIDTM panel under the IMmunity Profiling of pAtients with COVID-19 for Therapy and Triage ("IMPACTT") programme back in October 2020.
Utilising the data from this and other work, Oncimmune said its SeroTag panel can predict COVID-19 disease severity and therapeutic response to the virus and the effectiveness of vaccines, as well as other repurposed therapeutics as treatment against the disease.
The group stated that both of these substantial new contracts will utilise this research tool ‘to profile patient samples in search of immune related signatures in COVID-19 patients.’
Roche will utilise the group’s infectious disease panel to profile antibody and autoantibody responses in all patient samples from its COVACTA trial which was set up to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tocilizumab in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
The panel will look for immune signals of response, non-response and adverse events. Meanwhile, the company said the contract will also include an option to extend to IgA and IgM antibody profiling which will ‘substantially increase the value of the contract.’
Following on from an earlier agreement Cedars-Sinai which was signed in October 2020, the group has agreed to expand its COVID-19 programme to study a unique cohort of patients.
Oncimmune previously entered into the agreement with the world-leading medical research organisation, to provide antibody profiling in COVID-19 samples as biomarkers for the virus.
"We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with Roche and Cedars-Sinai through these two very important projects. As the world shifts its focus to recovering from the pandemic, we are seeing continued interest in Oncimmune’s infectious disease offering.
Today’s news is further validation of the importance of our Infectious Disease panel in supporting both clinical research and the development of vaccines and therapeutics.
We are also experiencing substantial interest in our immuno-oncology and autoimmune activities, which together with our infectious disease offering, provides us with confidence in the continued growth of ImmunoINSIGHTS,” said Dr Adam M Hill, CEO of Oncimmune.
To date, the company has entered into over seven contracts, including contracts with Roche, Genentech, another leading global biopharmaceutical company with extensive experience in developing novel immune checkpoint inhibitors, and certain other biotechs.
The company believes that the ImmunoINSIGHTS business, which has a current pipeline of over 100 separate opportunities, is now in a solid position to deliver ‘sustainable growth.’
Shares in Oncimmune have increased by over 20% in value since the beginning of 2021. Today’s news follows the group’s recent £9m fundraise which takes place as the company begins to ramp up the operating capacity at its ImmunoINSIGHTS pharma services business.
Reasons to ONC
Oncimmune Holdings’ focus is to harness the immune system’s sophisticated response to disease to detect cancer earlier and to support the development of better therapies.
Leading Proprietary Technology Portfolio
The company believes the key to improving cancer survival is early detection and optimal selection for therapy. Oncimmune's immuno-diagnostic test, EarlyCDT, can detect and help identify cancer on average four years earlier than standard clinical diagnosis.
Oncimmune’s core technology also powers its ImmunoINSIGHTS service; a proprietary platform that enables life-science organisations to optimise drug development and delivery, leading to more effective, targeted as well as safer treatments for patients.
The group’s EarlyCDT Lung blood test was previously featured on an ITV news broadcast last weekend titled ‘New Blood Test Provides Breakthrough in Lung Cancer Detection Rates’.
The feature highlighted that, in the UK, more than 35,000 people die of lung cancer each year and most have their lung cancer diagnosed late thereby lowering their chances of survival. 80% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed in the latest stages of the disease.
The EarlyCDT test works to identify the immune system's response to the presence of lung cancer. The test detects antibodies present in the body, enabling clinicians to focus their diagnosis on identifying the disease and treating it earlier than current clinical practice.
It has previously been shown that Oncimmune’s EarlyCDT Lung blood test can detect lung cancer on average four years before standard of care and has shown in a large National Health Service (NHS) trial that it can reduce late stage lung cancer presentation by 36%.
Inflection Point to Commercialisation
The Company now believes it has made the point of inflection as it matures from an R&D business into a commercial entity evidenced through its deepening commercial relationships with Industry Partners such as Roche
Fully Funded
The Company is now fully funded to develop all its commercial activities and drive revenues.
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