BIOMAKERS, a Precision Medicine & Biotech Company that supports data-driven Drug Development globally, and TOPAZIUM, an AI-driven healthtech company specializing in drug discovery and human wellbeing, have announced the results of their innovative collaborative project. This partnership showcases the power of AI systems in leveraging real-world DNA sequencing data to identify novel targets aimed at improving the efficacy of immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment. The findings were presented at the prestigious 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago.
The study used Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) data from biopsies of squamous and adenocarcinoma NSCLC processed through BIOMAKERS’ advanced DNA sequencing platforms. The data was then analyzed using GFPrint™, a proprietary algorithm developed by TOPAZIUM, that generates virtual representations of tumor exomes in a latent space defined by the genetic features of the samples.
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“The advent of drugs targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis has revolutionized NSCLC treatment. Although promising, individual responses to these therapies can vary, and we believe this ongoing project will help to better understand mechanisms involved in PD1/PD-L1 expression, optimize treatment protocols, and identify which patients are most likely to benefit from these therapies. In this study, DNA sequencing and GFPrint™ were employed to identify mutations in genes linked to PD-L1 expression in NSCLC adenocarcinoma tumor samples,” said Dr. Rubén Salanova, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder of BIOMAKERS.
“Using this strategy, we have identified a subpopulation of adenocarcinoma patients with increased PD-L1 expression levels, enriched in non-silent mutations of 10 genes of interest, mostly included in the HIF-1α signaling pathway. Notably, 6 of these mutated genes (PIK3R1, HK1, NOS2, NRAS, BRAF, ITGA1) were uniquely found in adenocarcinomas” said Juan Manuel Domínguez, Head of Preclinical & Biostatistics at TOPAZIUM.
“All these newly identified genes deserve further studies to validate them as potential targets for pharmacological intervention concomitant with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, and as potential biomarkers for patient selection to improve the efficiency of immunotherapy in NSCLC treatment,” added Andrea Mendoza, Head of R&D at BIOMAKERS.
Source: Businesswire
