Immunovia expands multicenter clinical study for early detection of pancreatic cancer through collaboration with the renowned University of Pittsburgh
The collaboration with leading pancreas cancer centers in USA is a cornerstone of Immunovias reimbursement strategy and market introduction. The present expansion of PanFAM-1, the largest ever prospective multicenter study for early detection of pancreas cancer is another important step towards these goals. The study is designed to validate IMMrayTM PanCan-d, the first blood based test for early detection of pancreatic cancer
Immunovia LUND, Sweden, and Pittsburgh, USA ― Immunovia AB today announced that University of Pittsburgh will be part of PanFAM-1, a multicenter prospective validation study for the early diagnosis in familiar pancreatic cancer (FPC) high risk individuals. Designed to validate Immunovia ́s blood test, IMMrayTM PanCan-d, the study will analyze thousand individuals for three years across sites in both the US and Europe offering FPC screening programs, and will open up the market and sales for testing hereditary pancreatic cancer patients.
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. University of Pittsburgh fulfill all three: broad patient reach, ongoing surveillance program for familial pancreatic cancer risk group and world renowned clinical expertise in pancreatic cancer.
“Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and difficult cancer to diagnose,” says Dr. Randall Brand, Director, GI Malignancy Early Detection, Diagnosis and Prevention Program at University of Pittsburgh. “When detected at an early stage, 5-year survival rates are greatly improved; however, currently, most diagnosed cases are in late stages. 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 we are looking forward to be part of this large validation study to reveal its clinical value”.
“We are excited to collaborate with Dr. Brand’s and his team at University of Pittsburgh on this prospective study of the IMMray™ PanCan-d test. Dr. Brand focus on early detection and diagnosis makes it the perfect choice for this collaboration. We anticipate that upon the successful outcome, the data from this prospective clinical trial will significantly strengthen the regulatory and reimbursement applications of our test,” commented Mats Grahn, CEO, Immunovia.
The other PanFAM-1 partners to date are: Mount Sinai in New York, Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, USA, the University of Liverpool, UK, Ramon y Cajal Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Immunovia is also in advanced discussions with several other high risk surveillance programs from Europe and USA about their participation.
For more information, please contact:
Mats Grahn
Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Immunovia
Tel.: +46-70-5320230
Email: mats.grahn@immunovia.com
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. The first test from this program, IMMray™ SLE-d, is a biomarker signature derived for differential diagnosis of lupus, now undergoing evaluation and validation. (Source: www.immunovia.com)
This information is information that Immunovia AB 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.
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 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 5-7 %. 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 5-7 % to potentially 50-60%.