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Deal
aggressively targets oncology Dx
January 2012
EDIT CONNECT
SHARING OPTIONS:
ABBOTT PARK, Ill.—At the end of November, longtime pharma
partners
GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA (GSK) and Abbott Laboratories announced
they will expand a three-year
collaboration in the area of cancer diagnostics
to develop additional tests in support of GSK's cancer immunotherapy research
program.
Since July 2009, the companies have been working to develop a
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to
screen non-small-cell lung cancer
(NSCLC) tumors for expression on the MAGE-A3 antigen, a tumor-specific antigen
that is expressed in a large variety
of cancers. Under their expanded
agreement, Abbott will develop a PCR test for use on the company's m2000rt
instrument to screen NSCLC tumors for the
expression of the PRAME antigen, a
preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma that is expressed in 69 percent of
NSCLC cases. The new agreement
brings other varieties of cancer into the
fold—including melanoma, breast, ovarian and bladder cancer—that have limited
expression in normal cells.
Ultimately, the companies hope Abbott's diagnostics will be
used in antigen screening as a
first-phase diagnostic for patients. The
diagnostics will support GSK's Antigen Specific Cancer Immunotherapy (ASCI)
program, which is comprised of a
class of novel compounds based on tumor
antigens presented to the patient's immune system as recombinant proteins in
combination with a GSK
proprietary adjuvant system. ASCIs are meant to trigger
a specific immune response against tumor cells expressing these proteins,
rallying antibodies
and T-cells to recognize and attack the cancer cells in a
highly specific manner—and eventually eliminate them.
According to GSK, this approach aims to reduce the risk of
tumor recurrence following surgery. It could also be used to impact
tumor
growth in early metastatic settings. The ASCIs' highly targeted mode of action
may also avoid harming normal tissue, says GSK, and it may also
allow selection
of patients eligible for treatment depending on the expression of the tumor
antigens. In the end, this may help oncologists to select
patient populations
most likely to respond to treatment, says GSK.
"So once MAGE-A3 is approved
and on the market, each patient
would have their biopsied tumor sample tested as a first step using the
Abbott-based platform as a first-phase
diagnostic for patients, and then as a
second step using Life Technologies for gene signatures as a second stage of
the patient profiling," explains
Sarah Clarkson, a spokeswoman for GSK
Vaccines.
Indeed, GSK has been very attracted to Abbott's
expertise in
developing diagnostic tests, Clarkson adds.
"One of the reasons GSK partnered with Abbott
is that we not
only have experience with development and filing for regulatory approvals, but
we have had a global commercial reach. We have also had
successful partnerships
with Pfizer, Roche/Genentech and AstraZeneca," says Kathryn Becker, director of
Abbott Molecular's oncology business.
Considered a pioneer in the use of molecular tests based on
PCR and fluorescence in-situ
hybridization (FISH) technologies to aid
clinicians in the selection of appropriate
pharmacogenomic therapies, Abbott's overall strategy and focus is "to create
novel molecular diagnostics
to improve patient care, including diagnosis,
prognosis and prediction of therapeutic response," says Becker.
"In particular, in the past two years, we have been
concentrating on the field of companion diagnostics," she says. "There haven't
been many successful biomarkers in oncology. Their efficacy is about 25
percent. With good science and biomarkers, we will continue to partner with
pharmaceutical companies to help identify and deliver novel tests and therapies
to patients around the world."
Financial details of the companies' agreements were not
disclosed. Code: E011214 Back |
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