On October 20, 2021 BC Platforms (BCP), a global leader in healthcare data management and analytics, reported an expanded partnership with Bumrungrad International Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand), one of the largest private hospitals in Southeast Asia and a world leader in healthcare delivery and pioneering clinical research (Press release, Debiopharm, OCT 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234591830]).

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The extended partnership, first formed in February 2019, builds on clinical sample management functionalities and existing automated workflows for genotype-based wellness reporting and NGS-based neonatal screening supported by BCP solutions. Bumrungrad will now utilize BCP’s Personalized Medicine Platform, powered by BC|GENOME, to implement end-to-end clinical NGS workflows for germline and somatic tumour testing, enabling data-driven personalized care for patients. Additionally, BCP will provide its Discovery and Research Platform, BC|INSIGHT, for curating and analysing clinical and omics data in a secure format to enhance translational research capabilities at Bumrungrad and boost research collaborations. Bumrungrad will also become a BCP data partner, for which it will contribute valuable, diverse data samples for research.

Dr Teeradache Viangteeravat, Director of Research and Development at Bumrungrad International Hospital, commented: "At Bumrungrad we have a commitment to provide precision medicine using big data; genomic and other omics data. We require a big data platform to support sample management, data processing, informatics pipelines, reporting and structured storage. BC Platforms is a world leader in this space and are able to provide a suite of integrated solutions, which support our strategic objectives and also support searching of genotypic and phenotypic data, for collaborative research projects. We are proud to be working with BC Platforms to provide a world class Precision Medicine Platform to continue to deliver the high-quality support our patients and clinicians demand."

Nino da Silva, Deputy Managing Director, BCP, said: "We are delighted to expand our partnership with Bumrungrad, making full use of our platforms to accelerate the shift towards precision medicine in southeast Asia. This powerful NGS infrastructure will deliver whole genome analysis to Bumrungrad’s clinical healthcare production system while supporting advanced clinical research. This is another great example of how we are partnering on an international level to seamlessly connect genomics healthcare and research."

On October 20, 2021 Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLVS) reported that it will announce its third quarter 2021 financial results on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, before the open of the US financial markets (Press release, Clovis Oncology, OCT 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234591582]). Clovis’ senior management will host a conference call and live audio webcast at 8:30am ET to discuss the Company’s results in greater detail.

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The conference call will be simultaneously webcast on the Clovis Oncology website www.clovisoncology.com, and a replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days.

Dial-in numbers for the conference call are as follows: US participants 888.440.4615, International participants 646.960.0682, conference ID: 2259685.

On October 20, 2021 Van Andel Institute’s Scott Rothbart, Ph.D., reported that it has earned a four-year, $792,000 Research Scholar’s Grant from the American Cancer Society to investigate the mechanisms that power a promising class of potent anti-cancer drugs (Press release, Van Andel Institute, OCT 20, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=american-cancer-society-grant-scott-rothbart [SID1234591602]).

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Scott Rothbart, Ph.D.

The drugs, called EZH2 inhibitors, work by targeting an enzyme called EZH2 that has long been of interest to cancer researchers because it interacts with the proteins that support DNA. As such, EZH2 plays a major role in switching genes that regulate cell proliferation "on" or "off" — a process that can lead to cancer if it goes awry. It also helps tumors evade attack by the immune system.

Because of their central role in all aspects of health and disease, proteins and the molecules that interact with them, such as EZH2, often are powerful targets for therapeutic development. Currently, several EZH2 inhibitors are undergoing clinical trials in cancer.

"EZH2 has immense potential to move the needle toward more targeted cancer treatments. We hope to contribute to this important work by defining the spectrum of molecules with which EZH2 interacts to help guide development of more precise therapeutic strategies," Rothbart said. "I am honored and humbled to receive this award from the American Cancer Society and look forward to uncovering new insights that may help improve treatment for people with cancer."

In 2018, Rothbart and his collaborators developed a new method to study lysine methyltransferases, the family of enzymes to which EZH2 belongs. Their work revealed that these important molecules interact with far more proteins than previously thought. Proteins are the molecular workhorses of the body and are responsible for carrying out all biological processes.

"We are proud to fund the innovative research by Dr. Scott Rothbart at Van Andel Institute, made possible by dedicated American Cancer Society supporters," said Kathy Goss, Ph.D., vice president of Regional Cancer Control at the American Cancer Society. "By investing in the research community’s brightest minds and best ideas, we continue to improve the lives of cancer patients and their families and, ultimately, move closer to a world without cancer."

Scott B. Rothbart, Ph.D., is supported by a Research Scholar Grant, RSG-21-031-01-DMC, from the American Cancer Society.

On October 20, 2021 Lightpoint Medical, a leading medical device company developing and marketing innovative technologies for intra-operative cancer detection, reported that clinical trial results today to support the use of the company’s miniature surgical gamma probe, SENSEI, in prostate sentinel lymph node detection (Press release, lightpoint medical, OCT 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234591619]).

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The interim results from the multi-center clinical trial, which involves cancer centers at Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain; Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France; and UZ Leuven, Belgium; demonstrate a 100% detection rate of sentinel lymph nodes using SENSEI in minimally-invasive and robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery.

The results also indicate that SENSEI performed better than standard rigid gamma probes, as SENSEI found additional pelvic sentinel nodes in anatomically restricted areas which could not be detected by the rigid gamma probe. The final study results, expected in Q1 2022, will provide further insights into the performance differences between SENSEI and rigid gamma probes.

The trial results will be presented today at the Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine.

The clinical trial results demonstrate the ease of use and performance of SENSEI in prostate cancer surgery and signal potential application in other surgical procedures across major cancer types.

Principal Investigator, Dr. Lluís Fumadó, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona said "These clinical trial results demonstrate that the use of SENSEI in prostate cancer surgery dramatically enhances our surgical management of prostate cancer patients and is shown to effectively detect sentinel lymph nodes. We look forward to using SENSEI in more procedures and evaluating the probe in combination with the new targeted imaging agent, 99mTc-PSMA, for direct detection of disease metastasis in pelvic lymph nodes."

Lightpoint Medical CEO, Graeme Smith, added "There are active clinical studies at multiple cancer centers evaluating SENSEI in prostate, cervical, and colorectal cancer with studies in lung and endometrial cancer in the pipeline. These positive and highly encouraging results from our multi-center study evaluating SENSEI in prostate cancer surgery demonstrate the ease of use and performance of SENSEI and signal potential application in other major cancer types to detect cancer intra-operatively. All of us at Lightpoint Medical are incredibly grateful to Dr. Lluís Fumadó and the team at Hospital del Mar for leading this study and to all the clinical centers and patients who are working with us."

About SENSEI

Lightpoint Medical has developed SENSEI – a miniaturized surgical gamma probe for minimally-invasive and robot-assisted cancer surgery. The device is approved for sale in the US, EU, UK, and Australia. SENSEI can detect gamma emissions from radiopharmaceuticals. The first application of the device is sentinel lymph node detection in prostate and cervical cancer surgery. It is anticipated that SENSEI will also have application in the direct detection of lymph node metastasis using breakthrough imaging agents such as 99mTc-PSMA in prostate cancer surgery and in radio-guided occult lesion detection in lung cancer surgery.

About sentinel lymph node detection

The intra-operative detection of sentinel lymph nodes is necessary when performing a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) procedure. The sentinel node is the first lymph node draining from the primary tumor. By identifying and removing the sentinel node during surgery, it is possible to determine whether cancer has spread through the lymphatic system. SLNB is commonly used in multiple cancer types. However, performing SLNB in minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgery is challenging due to usability limitations when using conventional long rigid gamma probes. SENSEI is a small, flexible gamma probe designed for minimally-invasive and robotic surgery and has the potential to improve SLNB in intra-cavity procedures such as those of the pelvis.

On October 20, 2021 Point32Health and Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. reported that they have signed an innovative risk-sharing agreement around Takeda’s ALUNBRIG (brigatinib), a potent and selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that is approved for adult patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as detected by an FDA-approved test (Press release, Takeda, OCT 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234594767]).

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The agreement will make ALUNBRIG broadly available to Point32Health’s more than two million members – with Takeda standing behind the medicine with a unique outcomes-based structure. The agreement is among the first risk-sharing contracts in oncology and the very first in ALK+NSCLC.

"Given the importance of facilitating cutting-edge oncology treatment and also the reality that not all patients show a positive response, reimbursement for oncology treatments is an area that is prime for innovative financing approaches," said Michael Sherman, MD, chief medical officer and executive vice president, Point32Health. "We’re excited to be able to demonstrate the value of ALUNBRIG as a treatment option for people with ALK+ NSCLC. Collaborating with Takeda to share risk makes this agreement a crucial milestone in bringing cost-effectiveness to cancer care."

"Takeda is committed to identifying and collaborating with payers on innovative and bold solutions that help ensure patients have access to our transformative therapeutics," said Dion Warren, vice president, head, U.S. Business Unit, Takeda Oncology. "Through this collaboration, Point32Health is able to allow broader access to ALUNBRIG because Takeda stands behind the value of its medicine and is willing to minimize the financial risk."