NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTG), a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research, and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) announced today that they are collaborating on an expansive molecular characterization project for cellular therapies. The collaboration will define the characteristics that make a cell therapy effective, providing a standardized approach to developing CAR-T regimens that may improve patient outcomes across all cancer types, especially solid tumors.
The collaboration will leverage the cell therapy expertise of PICI's network, including world-class academic research centers, and empower research teams with NanoString's widely recognized nCounter® Analysis System and CAR-T Characterization Panel.The technology utilizes a standardized gene expression panel of 780 genes, which the team will use to profile eight different biological characteristics of existing cell therapies. By analyzing the factors that correlate with optimal cellular therapies, the team will define the characteristics that make a therapy more likely to be effective. The team will also make the findings publicly available to the scientific community through PICI's Cancer Data and Evidence Library (CANDEL) analysis platform.
CAR-T cell therapy has produced significant advancements in the treatment of hematological malignancies, which has led to an explosion of research aimed at adapting these therapies for solid tumors. Despite this activity, several significant challenges remain. There is a particular need in the field to define key aspects of CAR-T activity, including molecular pathways that regulate effectiveness, toxicity, and persistence. This challenge is compounded by varying strategies used during the design and manufacturing process, and the variability associated with these patient-derived treatments. Overcoming these barriers can help unlock the benefits of cellular therapies for cancer patients currently in need of more effective treatments.
"By working together, NanoString and PICI will generate meaningful information from our scientific community to develop a standardized approach to cell therapy development, allowing us to better understand the attributes that make treatments effective and to ultimately improve patient outcomes," said Joseph Beechem, Ph.D., NanoString's chief scientific officer and senior vice president of Research and Development.
"PICI's approach is based on bringing together the brightest minds to solve cancer's toughest problems," said Lisa Butterfield, Ph.D., PICI's vice president of Research and Development. "This collaboration provides an important opportunity to deeply examine cell therapies and layout a road map for future development and manufacturing that can overcome the challenges of treating solid tumors."
NanoString and PICI are working together on other collaborative projects in parallel, including a multi-site validation of the GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler and the GeoMx as a tool to characterize patient response to immunotherapy. Work is underway for both projects, which includes processing nearly 1,000 cell therapy samples from across PICI's network with nCounter.
The team aims to provide updates on its work to the community through conferences and round table discussions.
About the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is radically changing the way cancer research is done. Founded in 2016 through a $250 million gift from Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Sean Parker, the San Francisco-based nonprofit is an unprecedented collaboration between the country's leading immunotherapy researchers and cancer centers, including Memorial Sloan Ke...
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