Sengenics Corporation Announces New Collaboration to Advance Cancer Treatment

Sengenics Partners with Renowned Research Institution to Map the Immune Response to Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Therapy

BOSTON, June 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sengenics Corporation LLC and Duke Health today announced an ambitious collaboration to redefine metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) treatment. This venture aims to explore the immune system's response to immunotherapy, leveraging Sengenics's state-of-the-art KREX^® technology to discover autoantibody biomarkers related to drug efficacy, resistance, and toxicity, thereby improving survival rates and quality of life for patients.

mCRC remains a significant challenge in oncology, with a 5-year survival rate of 14% (Rumpold, 2020). Historically, the development of cancer immunotherapies has focused primarily on cellular immunity while neglecting the crucial functions of the humoral immune system. This joint effort will measure the humoral immune response to immunotherapy drugs, atezolizumab and bevacizumab, which have shown promise in clinical trials for mCRC treatment.

The project's objective is to identify autoantibody biomarkers that can help stratify patients, ensuring they receive personalized and effective treatment regimens. It may also provide further insights into disease progression and mCRC subtypes.

"This research represents a significant step forward in the fight against metastatic colorectal cancer," said Professor Jonathan Blackburn, Chief Scientific Officer at Sengenics. "Autoantibodies not only offer a fresh perspective on treatment outcomes but can also provide biologically relevant and unique insights into disease that are not revealed by other 'omics' approaches."

Dr. Andrew Nixon, Professor of Medicine at Duke Health, added, "This collaboration underscores our commitment to enhancing patient care and health worldwide through innovative approaches. Our lab has focused on the development of circulating biomarkers for years, and we're excited to better understand the roles that autoantibodies play in the development of metastatic colorectal cancer and therapeutic resistance."

The findings from this collaboration could herald a new era in cancer treatment, where precision medicine enables more accurate predictions of treatment outcomes, leading to more successful management of mCRC and potentially other cancers.

About Sengenics

Sengenics Corporation LLC, a functional proteomics company, is committed to advancing precision medicine by empowering researchers with biologically relevant and actionable immunoproteomic insights across a broad spectrum of diseases. At the heart of its mission, Sengenics offers advanced, high-throughput tools using proprietary technology to precisely detect autoantibody biomarkers and protein interactions for basic, translational, and clinical research. Its robust tools have been leveraged by top pharmaceutical companies and leading research institutions to enhance disease understanding and streamline the biomarker pipeline. Sengenics is headquartered in the U.S. and has a worldwide network of offices, distributors, and service providers.

About Duke Health

Duke Health encompasses the world-class academic health care and research of the Duke University Health System, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University School of Nursing, Duke-NUS Medical School, Duke Global Health Institute, and the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy.

The health system advances our clinical mission by delivering care across three hospitals (Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital) and numerous outpatient services, including Duke Primary Care, Duke Health Integrated Practices, Duke HomeCare & Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

Leading the education and research missions of Duke Health are the School of Medicine and its numerous departments, centers, and institutes; the School of Nursing; Duke-NUS Medical School; Duke Global Health Institute; and the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy.

Through the integration of its education, research, and clinical care missions, Duke Health is steadfast in its dedication to improving the lives of all who come to us for hope, health, and healing. We do so by elevating standards of care; conducting breakthrough research and discovery; teaching and training the next generation of providers; and strengthening global and community health.

Reference

Rumpold, H., Niedersüß-Beke, D., Heiler, C., Falch, D., Wundsam, H. V., Metz-Gercek, S., Piringer, G., & Thaler, J. (2020). Prediction of mortality in metastatic colorectal cancer in a real-life population: a multicenter explorative analysis. BMC cancer, 20(1), 1149.

SOURCE Sengenics