TIDMOBD
Oxford BioDynamics PLC
21 June 2022
Oxford BioDynamics's Checkpoint Inhibitor Response Test
( EpiSwitch(R) CiRT) now available in the UK
-- EpiSwitch CiRT(R) is a first-of-its-kind precision medicine
test that predicts a patient's likely response to widely used
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) therapies.
-- The test has shown high sensitivity (93%), specificity (82%),
accuracy (85%), and NPV (93%) across 15 cancer indications where
ICI treatments are approved.
-- The simple clinical blood test is now also available to
private physicians across the UK through the dedicated website:
myCiRT.com .
-- ICIs therapies are ineffective in up to 70% of patients
receiving them, resulting in a critical need for early
determination of patient response.
-- Healthcare savings for the UK NHS and private healthcare over
ineffective ICI therapies and subsequent adverse responses could be
over GBP1bn.
Oxford, UK - 21 June 2022 - Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD,
the Company), a biotechnology company developing precision medicine
tests for immune health based on the EpiSwitch(R) 3D genomics
platform, has announced that its flagship Checkpoint inhibitor
Response Test (CiRT) clinical blood test is now available to
private physicians considering ICI therapy for their patients in
the UK.
The first-of-its-kind EpiSwitch CiRT blood test predicts the
likelihood of a cancer patient's response to the widely used class
of therapeutics - ICIs - including anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1
immunotherapies. Using a routine blood test, rather than an
invasive biopsy, CiRT provides fast, personalized guidance for a
physician on expected efficacy, enabling a more considered decision
whether to begin or continue treatment.
The robust EpiSwitch qPCR blood test has demonstrated
best-in-class performance, with high sensitivity (93%), specificity
(82%), accuracy (85%), and a significant negative predictive value
(NPV) of 93% [1], across several ICIs from multiple pharmaceutical
companies and more than 15 key oncological indications, including
melanoma and lung cancer.
This expansion to the UK follows encouraging early uptake by
early adopters of EpiSwitch CiRT in the US where it was first
launched in February 2022 as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT). The
CiRT will initially be available as an LDT to private healthcare
providers in the UK. It is only available to registered
physicians.
An estimated 2.9 million people were living with cancer in the
UK in 2020, a prevalence rate expected to rise to 4 million by 2030
(Macmillan Cancer Support ). It is estimated that around 350,000
people are diagnosed each year, amounting to over 1,000 new cases
per day ( Cancer Research UK ).
Despite the potential powerful efficacy of ICIs [2], it has been
estimated that they are ineffective for up to 70% of patients
treated. The situation is exacerbated by ICIs being some of the
most highly priced medicines in the world. The bestselling ICI in
the UK has a list price of GBP84,000 per patient course for the
drug alone.
The UK's NHS and private healthcare systems could save
significant amounts, estimated to be close to GBP1bn, by avoiding
or reducing the administration rate of ineffective treatments,
through straightforward personalised testing. Savings for the US
healthcare system could amount to more than $10bn .
Dr Geoff Higgins, Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist,
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Immune
checkpoint inhibitors are a great advancement in cancer therapy but
since many patients do not respond, and as treatment can frequently
cause significant side effects, there is a pressing need for robust
biomarkers of response. The current standard of PD-L1 IHC lacks the
accuracy that many oncologists desire. There is a significant unmet
clinical need to better predict response to ICIs for which
EpiSwitch CiRT promises to be a valuable addition.
Dr Simon Lord, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Oxford University
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, commented: "There are significant
limitations with current routine PDL-1 IHC testing processes not
being highly discriminatory in terms of benefits for certain
patients for which immunotherapy is indicated. EpiSwitch CiRT has
the potential to address this testing issue with the introduction
of a specific and accurate IO [immuno-oncology] response test.
There is a great advantage in having a liquid biopsy tool which is
less invasive than tumour sampling and can be reassessed in a
longitudinal fashion, whilst on treatment at multiple
timepoints."
CEO of OBD, Jon Burrows, added: "We understand that in order to
provide the best-quality care for cancer patients, clinicians
should be able to base their decision of therapy choice on
meaningful and accurate data. We have already seen in the US that a
simple blood test, such as the CiRT, that can predict the patient
response to ICIs, could quickly become an essential tool for
clinicians. We are proud to make this now available to UK patients,
as well. While initially this is only available to private
healthcare providers, we aim to widen availability through the NHS,
as well."
OBD recently presented important clinical utility data at on the
EpiSwitch CiRT clinical assay's prediction of patient response to
ICI therapies, at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists
Annual Meeting (ASCO 2022) in Chicago, IL. The test was very well
received by oncologists and health care providers from around the
world [3]. OBD will be attending and continue to present new data
at the ESMO Congress 2022 (Paris) from September 9 to 13, 2022.
For more about EpiSwitch CiRT, and to order the test, please
visit www.myCiRT.com .
Read more about the importance of the recently launched CiRT
test here .
For further details please contact:
Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Jon Burrows, CEO
Paul Stockdale, CFO +44 (0)1865 518910
Shore Capital
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Stephane Auton
John More +44 (0)20 7408 4090
Instinctif Partners Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2020
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Agnes Stephens OxfordBioDynamics@instinctif.com
/
Katie Duffell / Jonjo Cordey
Notes for Editors
About Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) is a global biotechnology
company, advancing personalized healthcare by developing and
commercializing precision medicine tests for life-changing
diseases.
Its flagship product is EpiSwitch(R) CiRT (Checkpoint Inhibitor
Response Test) for cancer, a predictive immune response profile for
immuno-oncology (IO) checkpoint inhibitor treatments, launched in
February 2022.
In March 2021, the Company launched its first commercial
prognostic test, EpiSwitch (R) CST (Covid Severity Test) and the
first commercially available microarray kit for high-resolution 3D
genome profiling and biomarker discovery, EpiSwitch(R) Explorer
Array Kit .
The Company has developed a proprietary 3D genomic biomarker
platform, EpiSwitch(R), which can build molecular diagnostic
classifiers for prediction of response to therapy, patient
prognosis, disease diagnosis and subtyping, and residual disease
monitoring in a wide range of indications.
Oxford BioDynamics has participated in more than 40 partnerships
with big pharma and leading institutions including Pfizer, EMD
Serono, Genentech, Roche, Biogen, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts
General Hospital and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.
The Company has created a valuable technology portfolio,
including biomarker arrays, molecular diagnostic tests,
bioinformatic tools for 3D genomics and an expertly curated 3D
genome knowledgebase comprising hundreds of millions of data points
from over 10,000 samples in more than 30 human diseases.
OBD is headquartered in Oxford, UK and is listed on AIM of the
London Stock Exchange. It also has a commercial office in
Gaithersburg, MD, USA and a reference laboratory in Penang,
Malaysia.
For more information, please visit the Company's website,
www.oxfordbiodynamics.com , or follow on Twitter or LinkedIn .
References
[1] Hunter E., et al. Development and validation of blood-based
predictive biomarkers for response to PD-(L)-1 checkpoint
inhibitors: evidence of a universal systemic core of 3D
immunogenetic profiling across multiple oncological indications.
MedRxiv (2021). https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.21.21268094
[2] Robert, C. A decade of immune-checkpoint inhibitors in
cancer therapy. Nat Commun 11, 3801 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17670-y
[3] Oxford BioDynamics PLC. Oxford BioDynamics' simple blood
test that predicts patient's response to Immune Checkpoint
Inhibitors well received at ASCO 2022, 14 June 2022.
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/OBD/obd-episwitch-cirt-well-received-at-asco-2022/15493474
About EpiSwitch(R)
The 3D configuration of the genome plays a crucial role in gene
regulation. By mapping this architecture and identifying abnormal
configurations, EpiSwitch(R) can be used to diagnose patients or
determine how individuals might respond to a disease or
treatment.
Built on over 10 years of research, EpiSwitch(R) is Oxford
Biodynamics' award-winning, proprietary platform that enables
screening, evaluation, validation and monitoring of 3D genomic
biomarkers. The technology is fully developed, based on testing of
over 10,000 samples in 30 disease areas, and reduced to
practice.
In addition to stratifying patients with respect to anticipated
clinical outcome, EpiSwitch(R) data offer insights into systems
biology and the physiological manifestation of disease that are
beyond the scope of other molecular modalities. The technology has
performed well in academic medical research settings and has been
validated through its integration in biomarker discovery and
clinical development with big pharma.
This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press
release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock
Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Reach is a non-regulatory news service. By using this service an
issuer is confirming that the information contained within this
announcement is of a non-regulatory nature. Reach announcements are
identified with an orange label and the word "Reach" in the source
column of the News Explorer pages of London Stock Exchange's
website so that they are distinguished from the RNS UK regulatory
service. Other vendors subscribing for Reach press releases may use
a different method to distinguish Reach announcements from UK
regulatory news.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
NRAFZGZVNGDGZZM
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2022 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Oxford Biodynamics (LSE:OBD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Oxford Biodynamics (LSE:OBD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024