Study to correlate genetic variation and peripheral blood signatures with immunotherapy response, resistance and toxicity

BostonGene, a leading provider of AI-driven molecular and immune profiling solutions, and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), a network of the largest concentration of immuno-oncology (IO) expertise in the world, announced today the launch of a collaboration aimed at uncovering molecular mechanisms underlying IO treatment response and treatment-related toxicity in advanced cancer patients and discovering actionable blood-based biomarkers.

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BostonGene will analyze longitudinal blood samples from PICI’s RADIOHEAD (Resistance Drivers for Immuno-Oncology Patients Interrogated by Harmonized Molecular Datasets) program, a prospective study of approximately 1,200 pan-cancer patients on standard of care immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment regimens. BostonGene’s revolutionary immunoprofiling incorporates flow cytometry and RNA-sequencing to track changes in the peripheral blood, which will be correlated with genetic variations from germline DNA testing to uncover blood-based signatures with immunotherapy response, resistance and toxicity.

“PICI’s mission-focused collaboration with BostonGene is a significant step toward unlocking the potential of blood-based biomarkers to advance personalized immunotherapy,” said Tarak Mody, PhD, Chief Business Officer at PICI. "Through the generation of large multi-omic datasets and machine learning, we aim to provide the PICI Network and our partners with improved patient selection strategies and valuable insights that can accelerate discovery, target validation and clinical research.”

"BostonGene's AI-driven solutions combined with PICI's unparalleled network of immuno-oncology expertise promise to redefine how we approach advanced cancer treatment. Together, we're pioneering the search for blood-based biomarkers," said Nathan Fowler, MD, Chief Medical Officer at BostonGene.

About BostonGene Corporation

BostonGene has a mission to provide transformative, AI-integrated molecular analytics and biomarker discovery for precision matching of therapies to improve the lives of patients living with cancer and other immune-related diseases. BostonGene’s concierge-service model provides customized client solutions using a multi-omic approach prioritized for real-world impact to optimize standard-of-care therapies, accelerate research and provide cost-effective, measurable data-driven results. BostonGene’s tests reveal key drivers of each patient’s unique disease profile, including an in-depth profile of the immune microenvironment, actionable mutations, biomarkers of response to diverse therapies, and recommended therapies. Through these comprehensive analyses, BostonGene’s tests generate a personalized roadmap for therapeutic decision-making for each patient. For more information, visit BostonGene at http://www.BostonGene.com.

About the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is radically changing how 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. PICI Network research institutions include Stanford Medicine; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Pennsylvania; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Gladstone Institutes; and Weill Cornell Medicine. PICI also supports top researchers at other institutions, including The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, City of Hope, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Institute for Systems Biology and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. By forging alliances with academic, industry and nonprofit partners, PICI makes big bets on bold research to fulfill its mission: to accelerate the development of breakthrough immunotherapies to turn all cancers into curable diseases. Find out more at parkerici.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) @parkerici, and on Spotify.

About RADIOHEAD

The RADIOHEAD (Resistance Drivers for Immuno-Oncology Patients Interrogated by Harmonized Molecular Datasets) program is a pan-tumor, prospective cohort study of 1000+ immunotherapy naive individuals on standard of care immune checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) treatment regimens. This study captured a comprehensive profile of each participant by collecting blood samples and clinical features at pretreatment, early on-treatment, and late timepoints from 52 community oncology clinics across the United States. If participants experienced immune-related adverse events, additional samples were collected upon presentation and in follow-up visits. In all, over 3700 longitudinal samples were collected, with a focus on major IO indications such as non-small cell lung cancer (~1400 samples) and malignant melanoma (~500 samples). Pairing comprehensive multi-omic profiling of these longitudinal samples with associated demographic and clinical outcomes provides an opportunity to identify clinically actionable mechanisms for CPI resistance and adverse events, discover targets for combination therapies and post-CPI treatment, and inform system biology approaches to elucidate disease pathways.

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PICI’s mission-focused collaboration with BostonGene is a significant step toward unlocking the potential of blood-based biomarkers to advance personalized immunotherapy.