Erlangen University Hospital and Immunovia enter into a collaboration agreement for the collection of pancreatic cancer blood samples for the final steps of IMMray™ PanCan-d development
LUND, SWEDEN― Immunovia AB (publ) (“Immunovia”) today announced that Erlangen University Hospital has become the first cancer center in Germany to join Immunovia’s global network of key opinion leaders in the quest for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Erlangen University Hospital will, in addition to Immunovia’s already existing collaborations, supply freshly collected blood samples for the final two steps to market of IMMray™ PanCan-d. As previously communicated (link to PR June 3, 2019) the final two steps towards commercialization remain the same and are the verification and validation of the commercial biomarker signature. The blood samples that will be collected, 100 PDAC and additional controls, are collected from patients referred to surgery with radiologically detected pancreatic lesions.
The Principal Investigator at Erlangen Hospital is Prof Dr Christian Pilarsky, Department of Surgery, Erlangen University Hospital.
This collaboration will not only add fresh PDAC samples and controls to contribute to Immunovia’s collection criteria of up to 2000 fresh samples needed for the remaining process of assuring commercialization readiness of IMMray™ PanCan-d, but will also add to genetic variability as well.
As previously communicated the final steps to market of IMMray™ PanCan-d will have three readouts: 1) yearend 2019 for the commercial test model, 2) Q2 2020 for the verification and 3) Q3 2020 the final read out of the blinded validation of IMMray™ PanCan-d. (link to PR June 3, 2019).
“Being able to gain access to a sufficient number of newly collected samples is essential for finalizing the validation of IMMray™ PanCan-d to launch in Q3 next year,” comments Mats Grahn, Immunovia CEO. “We are therefore delighted to announce this collaboration with Erlangen which also represents our first collaboration site in Germany, a very important market going forward.”
“Whilst there is a good probability of success with surgical intervention in PDAC, we still lack the kind of reliable non-invasive diagnostic test to complement imaging that IMMray™ PanCan-d represents,” adds Professor Pilarsky. “Therefore, we are pleased to enter collaboration with Immunovia and look forward with interest to the outcome.”
For more information, please contact:
Julie Silber
Investor Relations Director, Immunovia
Tel.: +46-79-3486277
Email: julie.silber@immunovia.com
This is information that Immunovia is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.00 a.m. (CET) on July 17, 2019.
About Immunovia
Immunovia AB was founded in 2007 by investigators from the Department of Immunotechnology at Lund University and CREATE Health, the Center for Translational Cancer Research in Lund, Sweden. Immunovia’s strategy is to decipher the wealth of information in blood and translate it into clinically useful tools to diagnose complex diseases such as cancer, earlier and more accurately than previously possible. Immunovia´s core technology platform, IMMray™, is based on antibody biomarker microarray analysis. The company is now performing clinical validation studies for the commercialization of IMMray™ PanCan-d that could be the first blood-based test for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In the beginning of 2016, the company started a program focused on autoimmune diseases diagnosis, prognosis and therapy monitoring. (Source: www.immunovia.com)
Immunovia’s shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.immunovia.com.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most deadly and difficult to detect cancers, as the signs and symptoms are diffuse and similar to other diseases. There are more than 40,000 deaths and over 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone, and the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is currently 5-9%. It is predicted to overtake colorectal cancer to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2020. However, because resection is more successful in stage I/II, early diagnosis can significantly improve pancreatic cancer patients’ 5-year survival rates from 5-9% to up to 49%.
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