On April 3, 2023 Theralink Technologies (OTC: THER) ("Theralink" or the "Company"), a precision oncology company with a novel phosphoprotein and protein assay for breast cancer, reported that it has acquired an exclusive license from Vanderbilt University for a U.S. patent related to methods for predicting patient response to immunotherapies in cancers, US 10,969,392, expanding the Company’s patent portfolio to 10 (Press release, Theralink Technologies, APR 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234629760]).

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Theralink has licensed the patent from Vanderbilt University, strengthening and extending Theralink’s current IP portfolio that covers specific "predictive" biomarkers. Predictive biomarkers are used to identify patients with cancers that require specific, personalized therapeutics. In essence, they define what are called "companion diagnostics" wherein the biomarker is used to identify classes of patients that will best respond to a specific drug. Theralink’s existing licensed patents cover specific predictive biomarkers that cover a range of therapeutic classes.

Emanuel Petricoin, Ph.D., Chair of Theralink’s Science Advisory Board, stated, "Immuno-oncology is one of the most exciting areas in the treatment of cancer today. However, despite the great success and promise of immunotherapies, many patients do not respond to this class of drugs, and there are significant toxicities associated with them. This important patent from discoveries made in the Balko laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a significant addition to Theralink’s biomarker collection, greatly enhancing our existing CLIA Theralink Assay portfolio."

Dr. Justin Balko, PharmD. Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt, commented, "We are pleased to advance this important biomarker into the clinic with the ultimate goal of aiding precision medicine in the use of immunotherapy in breast cancer and other tumor types. Migrating this biomarker to a clinically-accessible platform in tandem with ongoing phase III validation efforts will certainly accelerate its impact."

Dr. Mick Ruxin, CEO of Theralink, added, "This patent has very broad and important claims that will immediately synergize with the commercially available Theralink Assay offered today. I am excited about the potential clinical impact that the new licensed protein biomarkers, such as MHCII, will have at the bedside. This is one of the first of the so-called ‘pan-tumor’ predictive markers that Theralink will be utilizing: working not just for patients with breast cancer but for most solid tumor cancers."

New Patent Details.
Issued patent 10,969,392: Methods and systems for predicting response to immunotherapies for treatment of cancer, relates to the use of specific predictive biomarkers that can be used to identify which cancer patients will respond to the powerful and exciting new class of therapeutics called immunotherapies. The patent covers the use of the protein markers MHC-II, along with 16 other important protein markers found expressed in tumor cells and surrounding immune cells wherein immunotherapy treatments can be personalized and tailored for any cancer patient based on the protein expression pattern of these markers