Date: 2014-09-02
Type of information: Collaboration agreement
Compound: miR-31-3p biomarker
Company: Integragen (France) the French Intergroup for Thoracic Oncology (IFCT) (France)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: collaboration R&D
Action mechanism: biomarker. IntegraGen obtained the exclusive license for the worldwide rights for the miR-31-3p biomarker from the Paris Descartes University, INSERM, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and the Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP), all leading French academic institutions which, along with IntegraGen, are co-owners of the patent.
Disease: advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Details: * On September 2, 2014, IntegraGen, a French leader in genomics services also specializing in the development of molecular diagnostic tests for oncology and autism, announced a collaboration with the French Intergroup of Thoracic Oncology (IFCT) to explore the role of its proprietary miR-31-3p biomarker in advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study aims to identify whether the expression of the microRNA miR-31-3p is correlated with outcomes associated with the use of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapies for lepidic adenocarcinomas of the lung. If the results from this initial study are positive, the collaboration could be expanded to additional IFCT studies with miR-31-3p exploring its association with EGFR-targeted therapy-related outcomes in other types of lung cancer. "This collaboration will allow us to explore the correlation between the expression of miR-31-3p in the tumor and the effects of EGFR inhibitors in patients with advanced NSCLC," said Francois Liebaert, M.D., IntegraGen’s Vice-President of R&D and Medical Affairs.
"This project with IntegraGen will build on translational research and other studies conducted by the IFCT designed to identify molecular markers for lung cancer," commented Prof. Jacques Cadranel, a Member of the IFCT Scientific Council and coordinating investigator for both the IFCT-0401 and IFCT-0504 clinical trials from which samples for the study of miR-31-3p will be obtained. "This study will enable us to explore a biomarker which is potentially capable of guiding treatment in patients with lung cancer identifying who will benefit most from therapies and potentially allowing us to avoid unnecessary and expensive chemotherapy options."
Financial terms:
Latest news: * On April 16, 2015, IntegraGen announced that it presented data on the microRNA biomarker, miR-31-3p, during the 2015 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) being held in Geneva, Switzerland. Based on a study of patients with advanced lung cancer, the data presented demonstrates that the expression of miR-31-3p is correlated with the histological type of the lung tumor, with a higher expression of the biomarker in mucinous type, and also identifies patients with a shorter progression-free survival. The results also indicate that miR-31-3p is associated with overall survival and disease control rate in a subgroup of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). The data presented was based on a post-hoc analysis of patients enrolled in two prospective, randomized controlled phase II trials of EGFR TKIs in patients with non-resectable pneumonic adenocarcinoma which were conducted by the French Cooperative Thoracic Intergroup (IFCT). “With the increasing use of EGFR TKIs in patients with lung cancer there is a need to identify molecular markers which can help guide clinicians to treat patients who are more likely to benefit from this class of drugs,” stated Professor Jacques Cadranel, a Member of the IFCT Scientific Council and coordinating investigator for both the IFCT-0401 and IFCT-0504 clinical trials from which samples for the study of miR- 31-3p were obtained. "The results of our study provide initial evidence that patients with low expression levels of miR-31-3p may preferentially benefit from EGFR TKI therapy, especially patients with nonmucinous
type adenocarcinoma of the lung.”
