On April 11, 2023 BostonGene reported that eight abstracts were selected for poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2023, which will be held from April 14 – 19, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. BostonGene will exhibit at booth #1358 (Press release, BostonGene, APR 11, 2023, View Source [SID1234629976]).

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On Sunday, April 16, Alexander Bagaev, PhD, Vice President of Product Development at BostonGene, will deliver a presentation on the power of next-generation immunotherapy response prediction driven by BostonGene’s bioinformatic engine through AI-based multiomic data integration.

BostonGene will present posters that describe the development of novel assays and analytical tools and pipelines to advance precision oncology, including our liquid biopsy platform and cancer of unknown primary (CUP) classifier. BostonGene will also demonstrate ability of comprehensive molecular profiling to identify clinically relevant alterations that can be utilized for treatment decision-making. The presentations highlight the application of BostonGene’s innovative technologies to improve the diagnosis and personalized treatment recommendations for cancer patients.

Details of BostonGene’s presence at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting are below:

Spotlight Theater Presentation:

Title: Next generation immunotherapy response prediction driven by BostonGene’s bioinformatic engine through AI-based multiomic data integration
Date and Time: Sunday, April 16 | 1:30 PM
Location: Spotlight theater C
Speaker: Alexander Bagaev, PhD, Vice President of Product Development, BostonGene

BostonGene uses artificial intelligence and machine learning systems to integrate data from next-generation DNA and RNA sequencing (NGS), multiplex imaging, and flow cytometry to paint a comprehensive portrait of a cancer patient’s tumor and immune system. This 360-degree approach to precision diagnostics requires the deployment of novel analytical solutions.

Poster Presentations:

Title: Use of comprehensive molecular profiling to identify additional clinically-relevant alterations compared to targeted gene panels
Abstract number: 244
Date and Time: Sunday, April 16 | 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 9
Presenter: Sandrine Degryse, PhD, BostonGene

Title: Analytical validation of a liquid biopsy test using cell-free circulating tumor DNA for mutational profiling
Abstract number: 1042
Date and Time: Sunday, April 16 | 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 42
Presenter: Anastasia Yudina, BostonGene

Title: Integrated analysis of gene expression signatures and AI-based detection of tertiary lymphoid structures and stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer H&E samples
Abstract number: 27
Date and Time: Tuesday, April 18 | 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 33
Presenter: Kate Postovalova, PhD, BostonGene

Title: An ML-based tool for predicting tissue of origin for cancer of unknown primary (CUP) based on genomic and transcriptomic data
Abstract number: 5405
Date and Time: Tuesday, April 18 | 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 32
Presenter: Nara Shin, PhD, BostonGene

Title: Computational cancer cell gene expression deconvolution from tumor bulk RNA-seq via the machine learning algorithm Helenus
Abstract number: 5401
Date and Time: Tuesday, April 18 | 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 32
Presenter: Krystle Nomie, PhD, BostonGene

Title: Development and refinement of functional gene expression signatures as a computational tool for comprehensive characterization of transcriptomic data
Abstract number: 6538
Date and Time: Wednesday, April 19 | 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 30
Presenter: Alexander Bagaev, PhD, BostonGene

Title: Comprehensive immunoprofiling of peripheral blood reveals five conserved immunotypes with implications for immunotherapy in cancer patients
Abstract number: 6664
Date and Time: Wednesday, April 19 | 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 39
Presenter: Michael Goldberg, PhD, BostonGene

Title: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP): Beyond the identification of the site of origin by an integrative genomic approach
Abstract number: 2143
Date and Time: Monday, April 17 | 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: Exhibit Hall, Poster Section 39
Presenter: Majd Al Assaad, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine

Research conducted in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine

The abstracts will be published in an online-only Proceedings supplement to the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) journal Cancer Research after the conclusion of the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.

On April 11, 2023 ImmuneBridge, a biotechnology company using nature’s innate intelligence to fight cancer, reported the close of an oversubscribed $12 million seed financing co-led by global investors Insight Partners and M Ventures, the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (Press release, ImmuneBridge, APR 11, 2023, View Source [SID1234629975]). One Way Ventures and Gaingels also participated. Cheryl Zimberlin, Investment Director at M Ventures, and Dylan Morris, Managing Director at Insight Partners have joined ImmuneBridge’s Board of Directors.

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ImmuneBridge is developing allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. NK cells represent a promising platform for allogeneic immunotherapy because they are potent cancer killers with a minimal risk profile. Current approaches to NK therapeutic development have yet to identify optimal product attributes with regard to source, phenotype, and engineering that yield the most effective and durable therapies.

ImmuneBridge’s orthogonal approach uses a proprietary expansion technology and a diverse clinic-ready source to enable accelerated discovery and translation of the most potent cell therapies. ImmuneBridge’s expansion technology expands hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are natural precursors of NK cells. HSCs are readily available via umbilical cord blood from public cord blood banks across the United States and globally. This approach allows for the systematic screening of cord blood to identify the most potent cells per indication, which then can be genetically engineered to enhance their potency on top of their innate baseline.

"Cell therapy is a new pillar of medicine and is inextricably human. Cell therapy developers fear donor-to-donor variability, yet we humans are unapologetically diverse in our innate immune systems. It is natural to identify the most potent therapies from among human diversity—and we can employ genetic engineering to enhance them," said Peretz Partensky, co-founder and CEO of ImmuneBridge. "We dare to not fear our immunological diversity but to embrace it."

This investment will be used to build a screening dataset for indication-optimized NK cells, to demonstrate scalable manufacturability, and to generate pre-clinical data for a lead product.

"After surveying the broader landscape, we believe ImmuneBridge is uniquely positioned to build the next generation of off-the-shelf NK cell therapies. They have a distinct and promising approach to overcome challenges faced by existing therapies," said Cheryl Zimberlin, Investment Director at M Ventures.

"By taking advantage of the genotypic diversity of the human immune system, ImmuneBridge has the potential to dramatically improve the way we approach off-the-shelf immunotherapies," said Dylan Morris, Managing Director at Insight Partners.

Earlier this year, ImmuneBridge engaged key advisors, including Catherine Blish, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine and Aharon Freud, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at Ohio State University as part of ImmuneBridge’s Scientific Advisory Board.

On April 11, 2023 Kiyatec, the leader in clinically correlated, published functional precision oncology technology, reported that two abstracts were accepted for poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting to be held in Orlando, Florida from April 14 – 19, 2023 (Press release, Kiyatec, APR 11, 2023, View Source [SID1234629974]).

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Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

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Kiyatec’s clinical and pre-clinical technology platforms, 3D Predict and KIYA-PREDICT, respectively, are leading the functional precision oncology space with published evidence of predictive response correlated to clinical outcomes. The two abstracts accepted for presentation at the conference highlight the companies work in ex vivo immune-oncology applications for pre-clinical drug development, including multiple mechanisms of action, utilization of ex vivo PDX, and development of advanced organoid technology. The ex vivo PDX work features an ongoing collaboration with investigators from XenoSTART.

"The work being presented highlights the application of Kiyatec’s technologies for the development and testing of multiple types of immunotherapies," said Tessa DesRochers, Kiyatec’s Chief Scientific Officer. "Our technology platforms allow for testing of I/O agents on primary patient tissue and ex vivo PDX tissue, providing expanded, more relevant avenues for drug development in immuno-oncology."

Session titles and information for the abstracts are listed below and are also available on the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) online itinerary planner. Kiyatec will exhibit it’s preclinical service offerings at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) at Booth #419.

Kiyatec presentation schedule:

Preclinical testing of therapeutic biologics using patient-derived 3D Spheroids

Clinical Research Excluding Trials

Monday, April 17th 9:00am – 12:30pm

Perfused patient-derived tumor organoid models with autologous immune cells for preclinical drug development

Tumor Organoids for Therapeutic Testing

Sunday, April 16th 1:30pm – 5:00pm

On April 11, 2023 GRAIL, LLC, a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured, will present new data showcasing the performance of its methylation platform to detect cancer across the early- and post-diagnosis settings at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Orlando, April 14-19, 2023 (Press release, Grail, APR 11, 2023, View Source [SID1234629973]).

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"Data at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) from our clinical development program support the potential of our methylation-based technology platform to transform cancer detection and care for people across all stages of their cancer journey," said Josh Ofman, MD, MSHS, president at GRAIL. "In addition to case studies of our GalleriⓇ multi-cancer early detection test in clinical practice, and demonstrating the unmet need for patients presenting with non-specific symptoms suggestive of cancer, we are excited to share results evaluating the performance of our new research-use only, methylation-based solution for post-diagnosis applications."

In the early-diagnosis setting, GRAIL will present real-world case studies of the Galleri multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test that demonstrate how Galleri led to early detection and treatment of cancer in asymptomatic individuals and directed diagnostic evaluation. In these instances, the Galleri test allowed the cancers to be detected in early stages and before clinical presentation.

In the post-diagnosis setting, analytical validation data will show how GRAIL’s targeted methylation technology platform can be used for diagnostic decision support to aid in achieving timely and cost-effective management of patients and after cancer diagnosis. GRAIL will present results from an analytical validation of its research-use only technology solution to accelerate cancer research in the post-diagnosis setting, launched as an offering to biopharmaceutical companies in January 2023. Potential research use cases for the methylation-based solution include, but are not limited to, prognosis, minimal residual disease detection, and recurrence monitoring across different cancer types.

Late-Breaking Poster Sessions

Title: Analytical validation of a tissue-free, multi-cancer, post-diagnosis cancer research test that uses cell-free DNA methylation profiling
Abstract Number: LB297
Session Title: Late-Breaking Research: Clinical Research 3
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 9 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Location: Section 34

Poster Sessions

Title: A case of stage I HPV-mediated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) diagnosed using a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test
Abstract Number: 6523
Session Title: Early Detection and Molecular Markers of Prevention
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 9 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Location: Section 28

Title: A case of stage IIA anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) diagnosed using a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test
Abstract Number: 6503
Session Title: Early Detection and Molecular Markers of Prevention
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 9 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Location: Section 28

Title: Clonal B-cell expansion and the potential challenges to blood-based early cancer detection
Abstract Number: 779
Session Title: Omics and Imaging Approaches in Cancer Risk, Early Detection and Response Assessment
Date/Time: Sunday, April 16, 2023, 1:30 PM – 5 PM EST
Location: Section 28

Title: Patient characteristics, diagnostic journey, and cancer enrichment among pts with nonspecific signs and/or symptoms in the US community oncology setting: a real-world retrospective study
Abstract Number: 6752
Session Title: Retrospective Clinical Analyses 2
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 9 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Location: Section 42

Title: Utility of ctDNA-based targeted methylation MRD assay for hematological malignancies
Session Title: Liquid Biopsies: Circulating Nucleic Acids and Circulating Tumor Cells 3
Date/Time: Monday, April 17, 2023, 1:30 PM – 5 PM EST
Location: Section 43
Abstract Number: 3369

On April 11, 2023 K36 Therapeutics ("K36"), a privately held biotechnology company developing KTX-1001, an investigational small molecule methyltransferase inhibitor of multiple myeloma SET domain known as MMSET, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1 clinical trial earlier this year (Press release, K36 Therapeutics, APR 11, 2023, View Source [SID1234629972]). KTX-1001 is an oral, first-in-class, selective and potent MMSET catalytic inhibitor that suppresses H3K36me2 in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The K36-MMSET-001 Phase 1 clinical trial is designed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacology, and initial clinical activity of KTX-1001 (NCT05651932).

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"We are thrilled to have reached this clinical milestone and appreciate our ongoing partnership with Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) at Tennessee Oncology," said Terry Connolly, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of K36. "KTX-1001 has not only demonstrated encouraging preclinical activity and a favorable tolerability profile, but it also addresses unmet need for patients who have received other standard of care therapies available to patients suffering from multiple myeloma. We look forward to working with all our sites, investigators, and study teams to efficiently enroll our Phase 1 clinical trial."

The first patient has been dosed in Nashville, TN by the Lead Principal Investigator and Director of Myeloma Research for SCRI at Tennessee Oncology, Jesus Berdeja, MD, who stated, "There still remains a need for new personalized therapies to treat multiple myeloma and novel precision therapeutics like KTX-1001 offer a potential solution to address the challenges seen in high-risk subsets like translocation t(4;14). We are delighted to be the first institution to advance this first-in-class agent into the clinic with K36."

K36 has also appointed Michael Heffernan as an Independent to the company’s Board of Directors. "We are pleased to welcome Michael Heffernan to the Board," said Dr. Connolly. "Michael’s late-stage development and commercial experience will complement our exceptionally strong scientific board as we further our business and pursue our mission to expand therapeutic pursuits that serve patients."

Michael brings over 30 years of experience in building and leading development stage and commercial companies in the biopharmaceutical space. "It is an exciting time at K36. I am excited to work with the Board, Terry, and the talented K36 team to further the development and commercialization plan of KTX-1001," noted Mr. Heffernan.

Mr. Heffernan is an advisor, investor, and board member of numerous public and private biopharmaceutical companies. He began his career at Eli Lilly and Company, where he served in numerous sales and marketing roles. He then served a variety of roles, including President and CEO of Collegium since its inception, co-founder and CEO of Clinical Studies Ltd. (acquired by PhyMatrix Corp), Co-Founder and Chairman/CEO of Avenge Bio, Inc., Chairman/CEO of Onset Dermatologics, and Founder and Chairman of Collegium Pharmaceutical (COLL). He currently is a member of the Board of Directors of Biohaven (BHVN), Collegium (COLL), Trevi (TRVI), and Synlogic (SYBX).

Mr. Heffernan was named E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year, Northeast Regional Winner in 2016. He is a registered pharmacist and earned his B.S. Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut.

About KTX-1001

KTX-1001 is a novel, first-in-class, potent, and selective catalytic inhibitor of the H3K36 methyltransferase MMSET. It is an investigational and orally administered small molecule being developed initially for the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, with a focus on patients with the genetic translocation t(4;14).