# Oncimmune signs further commercial contracts within its ImmunoINSIGHTS pharma services business

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/oncimmune-signs-further-commercial-contracts-within-its-immunoinsights-pharma-services-business/4121039671
- Published: 2021-12-21T07:37:41+00:00
- Author: Giles

**Oncimmune Holdings plc **(LON:ONC), the leading global immunodiagnostics group,
has announced that the Company has signed further commercial contracts within its
ImmunoINSIGHTS pharma services business.

**_MSA and Commercial Contract Signed with Leading Global Pharmaceutical Company_**

Following the recent signing of a MSA with a leading global pharmaceutical company,
the Company is pleased to report that it has signed a commercial contract to provide
autoantibody biomarker services. A second contract has been agreed and is expected
to be signed in the next few days. Both programmes are scheduled to complete and
be invoiced by the end of FY2022 and the Company expects these programmes to lead
to follow-on studies.

Under the first contract, Oncimmune will develop a multiplexed assay to measure 
Immunoglobulin E (IgE) autoantibodies on its SeroTag^(TM) platform for planned autoimmune
studies. In the second, pending contract, Oncimmune will evaluate the autoantibody
profiles of patient samples collected in an autoimmune trial for chronic idiopathic
urticaria^(1) (“CIU”). This study will measure the autoimmune profile in chronic,
idiopathic (meaning ‘of unknown cause’) cases of CIU and aims to uncover insights
that will support the clinical development of a therapeutic for CIU.

**_Commercial Collaboration Agreement Signed with _****_The European Organisation
for Research and Treatment of Cancer (“EORTC”)_**

The Company has signed an autoantibody profiling collaboration with the EORTC, an
independent, non-profit cancer research organisation whose mission is to coordinate
and conduct international translational and clinical research to improve the standard
of cancer treatment for patients. The new research project, co-funded with the EORTC
Melanoma Group and MSD, will evaluate the autoantibody profiles of patient samples
collected in the ongoing phase 3 EORTC1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial investigating KEYTRUDA
^(®) (pembrolizumab), MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, as monotherapy for surgically resected,
high-risk melanoma.

The project will explore autoantibody profiles as biomarkers of clinical response
in patients with melanoma recruited onto the EORTC1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial, which 
assessed pembrolizumab versus placebo in an adjuvant setting (in which the drug 
is administered after surgery). Pembrolizumab is an immune check point inhibitor(“
CPI”) with uses in over 15 types of cancer, including for the treatment of melanoma
skin cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma.

The project will use the Company’s SeroTag immuno oncology discovery array to explore
the response to therapy and the potential for immune related adverse events among
patients treated with pembrolizumab, nivolumab and ipilimumab. The utility of the
Company’s SeroTag immuno oncology discovery array was previously reported when the
results of a prior study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology
meeting in 2020.^(2) The aim of this new research project is to explore whether 
autoantibody patterns are associated with recurrence-free survival in the adjuvant
setting.

Oncimmune has already studied autoantibodies in patients receiving CPI therapy, 
including pembrolizumab, and this research project builds on this scientific knowledge,
expanding the discovery antigen set and focusing on recurrence among patients treated
with pembrolizumab in the adjuvant setting.

**_New Academic Collaborations expand use of ImmunoINSIGHTS Technology Platform 
into CAR-T and CAR-NK Cell Therapies with New Academic Collaborations_**

Additionally, the Company is also in the final stages of agreeing two new collaborations
with world-leading US-based academic institutes. These new collaborations will in
part focus on new market segments for our existing technology platform, including
chimeric antigen receptor cell therapy cells and chimeric antigen receptor natural
killer cells. CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies are some of the fastest growing segments
in the pharmaceutical market globally and represent significant clinical and commercial
growth opportunities for the ImmunoINSIGHTS business.

> **Dr Adam M Hill, CEO of Oncimmune said:** “Earlier this month we reported on 
> the commercial momentum we have experienced in Q2 FY2022 and committed to update
> investors on further commercial progress before the end of the calendar year. 
> We are therefore delighted to announce the signing of this MSA with a leading 
> global pharma group, which has enabled the awarding of a contract utilising our
> ImmunoINSIGHTS autoantibody biomarker service and a second contract expected to
> be signed in the next few days. We are also excited to have signed the agreement
> with EORTC for a profiling collaboration for the important, much-needed drug, 
> KEYTRUDA_._
> “These agreements further demonstrate the applicability and significance of our
> ImmunoINSIGHTS service to key players within both the pharmaceutical industry 
> and research field and represents another endorsement of the capabilities of ImmunoINSIGHTS
> to contribute to medical innovation. We also have forthcoming collaborations with
> two leading US-based academic institutions within CAR-T and CAR-NK represent an
> exciting expansion of our technology platform into these fast-growing markets.
> “These contracts announced today and earlier this month underpin the commercial
> momentum we are currently experiencing and we look forward to building on this
> in the coming months.”

_^(1) CIU, also known as hives, is a skin disease which is often caused by an allergic
reaction to food or drugs. In a small number of cases, the disease is chronic and
of unknown cause._

_^(2) Hassel, J.C., et al. (2020). Autoantibodies as predictors for survival and
immune-related adverse events in checkpoint inhibition therapy of metastasised melanoma.
J. Clin. Oncol. 38, 10011-10011._

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