Immunovia announces collaboration with Mount Sinai Health System to validate early detection blood test for pancreatic cancer
LUND, Sweden, and NEW YORK, USA ― Immunovia AB is pleased to announce that Mount Sinai Health System will be one of the first sites participating in a prospective clinical study for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Designed to validate Immunovia´s blood test, IMMray™ PanCan-d, the study will run for three years across sites in both the US and Europe, starting second half of 2016.
Working closely with several leading pancreatic cancer authorities, Immunovia identified three main criteria for the enrolment of the sites participating in the multisite prospective study. Mount Sinai Health System conforms closely to all three: broad patient reach, world renowned clinical expertise in oncology and specifically in pancreatic cancer. Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical centers in the US with 7 hospitals, 46 clinics and 12 surgery centers.
Under the agreement, Mount Sinai will contribute together with the other sites to the development of the prospective study clinical protocol, obtaining the required approvals to recruit study subjects and following them up over a period of three years, delivering the blood samples for analysis and finally disseminating the results to clinicians and patients.
“We are excited to collaborate with Mount Sinai on the first prospective study of the IMMray™ PanCan-d test for early detection of pancreatic cancer. Mount Sinai’s innovative approach to research and clinical care, scientific excellence, robust clinical research, and beneficial community impact, make it the best choice for this collaboration. We anticipate that upon successful outcome, the data from this prospective clinical trial will be used in regulatory and reimbursement applications of our test” commented Mats Grahn, CEO, Immunovia.
“Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and difficult neoplastic disease to diagnose,” says Carlos Cordon Cardo, MD, PhD, the Irene Heinz Given and John LaPorte Given Professor and Chairman for the Department of Pathology at Mount Sinai Health System. “When detected at an early stage, it can be treated successfully, rendering cures similar to other cancers. However, late stages are usually fatal. It is for this and other reasons that a test for early detection is critical. IMMray™ PanCan-d has the potential of being such tool, and supporting a large validation study to reveal its clinical value is part of the mission of our institution and society at large. Furthermore, this collaboration enhances our program in the development of the liquid-biopsy platform and individualized predictive medicine.”
In addition to the collaboration with Mount Sinai Health System, Immunovia announced in October a partnership with Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, USA (see announcement here). The third site that was announced recently is University of Liverpool, UK (see announcement here).
For more information, please contact:
Mats Grahn
Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Immunovia
Tel.: +46-70-5320230
Email: mats.grahn@immunovia.com
Lucia Lee
Director of Media
Mount Sinai Health System
Email: lucia.lee@mountsinai.org
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. (Source: www.immunovia.com)
Immunovia’s shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm and Wildeco is the company’s Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit www.immunovia.com.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services—from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The System includes approximately 6,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked as one of the nation’s top 10 hospitals in Geriatrics, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, and Gastroenterology, and is in the top 25 in five other specialties in the 2015-2016 “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News & World Report. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel is ranked regionally.
For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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 4-6%. It is predicted 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 4-6% to potentially 50-60%.
Tags: