Notable Launches New Clinical Study With Washington University School of Medicine Exploring Ex Vivo Drug Screening to Predict Chemotherapy Sensitivity and Resistance
FOSTER CITY, Calif.: Notable, which is redefining cancer treatment by taking a functional approach to precision oncology in hematological cancers, announced a new precision oncology study with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, exploring the feasibility of ex vivo drug screening to predict sensitivity and resistance to chemotherapy, and to identify novel synergies across a broad panel of anticancer therapies.
The study will help determine to what extent Notable's technology platform has the ability to predict clinical responses in patients treated with standard of care therapies in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In addition, the study explores how a patient's disease changes in response to specific therapies, and whether Notable can potentially combat resistance to therapy by finding new effective combinations on its platform.
The study will be conducted at Washington University School of Medicine’s Siteman Cancer Center. Notable is performing the ex vivo drug sensitivity tests in its laboratory in Foster City.
“This is a very important validation study for Notable,” said Hiroomi Tada, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer at Notable. “It will provide a large dataset that will enable us to compare our ex vivo test results with patient outcomes, which we need to understand how well our assays work, and determine whether we need to improve the assays for certain classes of drugs to make the tests better. In addition, the study will provide us with insight into how AML and MDS change in response to treatment, identify potential new combination therapies and if patients are failing a therapy much earlier, allowing us to intervene sooner as resistance is emerging.”
Medical oncologist John Welch, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the division of oncology at Washington University School of Medicine, said, “It can be difficult to predict patients’ responses to chemotherapy, and we look forward to evaluating whether Notable’s platform has the potential to change the way clinicians approach cancer therapy for individual patients. This trial is intended to help determine the platform’s accuracy and its value as a clinical care tool.”
This is expected be a five-year study, though data from the first cohort could be available within 12–18 months.
