Study demonstrates the viability and value of
RNA sequencing from formalin fixed samples in gaining a deeper
understanding of patient disease biology and in delivering
diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic value in a clinical
setting
RNA sequencing provides the potential to
molecularly define a patient’s cancer, identify its origin, and,
most importantly, optimize treatment plans for the highest chance
of success, especially with immunotherapies
NantHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: NH), a provider of enterprise
solutions that help businesses transform complex data into
actionable insights, today announced the publication of a study
that revealed RNA sequencing is not only viable but may also
provide significant clinical value in analyzing a cancer patient’s
specific disease biology to enable an optimized treatment decision
with a higher likelihood of success. The study was published in
Nature’s Scientific Reports, an open access, peer-reviewed journal
dedicated to original research from across all areas of the natural
and clinical sciences.
Prepared in collaboration with NantOmics, LLC and ImmunityBio,
Inc., the study was designed to explore the potential use of
formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE)-derived RNA transcriptome
profiling for clinical decision-making. This technique was
previously not considered to yield significant clinical value due
to the lower quality, degraded samples typically produced by the
formalin fixation process. FFPE is the most common method used in
clinical settings for storing tumor biopsies.
The study revealed an overall sequencing success rate of 81%
with highly consistent coverage in direct FFPE and fresh-frozen
(FF) replicates (98% agreement). The results provide strong
rationale for the use of FFPE-derived RNA sequencing in clinical
decision-making based on the reproducibility, robustness, and
consistency of whole transcriptome profiling. This research enables
the comparison of clinical samples to research studies, which
generally differ in both data collection and sequencing methods,
and which may unlock highly valuable insights that would not be
possible with DNA sequencing techniques alone.
“This is an important step to advancing towards molecularly
informed medicine, both from the perspective of diagnostics to
precise therapeutic intervention,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong,
CEO of NantHealth, NantOmics and ImmunityBio. “Genomic reporting
capabilities could be enhanced through clinical applications
resulting from this technology, including identifying cancers of
unknown primary (CUP), prevalence of immune cell infiltrates in the
tumor microenvironment (immunome), and expression analysis of
checkpoint markers including those targeted by commercial and
investigational immunotherapies,” he continued.
The study also demonstrates that RNA sequencing is not only
clinically viable but valuable and can provide a more thorough
understanding of what genes are driving each individual patient’s
tumor to better inform personalized treatment decisions.
To achieve this, researchers performed ribo-deplete RNA
extractions on more than 3,200 FFPE slide samples to measure the
expression of clinically significant genes that help identify
treatments with the highest likelihood of response. The study
included a comprehensive evaluation of RNA extraction methods
(Poly-A and ribo-depletion) by comparing transcriptomes from The
Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort and 3,116 FFPE samples. Findings
showed minimal differences between the two approaches within
clinically important genes, while establishing a computational
framework for comparing the expression of FFPE clinical samples to
the growing database of research samples generated by academic
studies.
“These are very exciting results from a robust scientific study
of a high caliber,” said Shahrooz Rabizadeh, Ph.D., Chief
Scientific Officer, ImmunityBio. “The implication of using RNA
sequencing to molecularly define a patient’s cancer, identify the
origin of cancers of unknown primary, and most importantly,
optimize treatment plans for the highest chance of success,
especially with immunotherapies, is profound.”
“Through this research, we demonstrated the robustness of the
RNA assay and the informatics techniques that help clinicians
understand the transcriptional drivers of disease in their
patients, allowing the further advancement of personalized
medicine,” said Dr. Sandeep “Bobby” Reddy, Chief Medical Officer,
NantHealth. “NantHealth knows that high-quality data is the
backbone of modern medicine. This study unlocks valuable insights
through a method that allows the analysis of both academic research
and clinical data for treatment optimization, further strengthening
our fight against cancer.”
Receiving widespread attention in policy documents and the
media, Scientific Reports is the seventh most-cited journal in the
world, with more than 350,000 citations. The publication has an
extensive network of expert peer reviewers and an editorial team
who provide rigorous and objective review. Scientific Reports is
guided by the same ethical and editorial guidelines as other Nature
Research publications to ensure that all the research is original,
scientifically robust and of the highest quality. The journal is
published through a number of different channels, including
nature.com, where it receives approximately two million monthly
visitors.
About NantHealth, Inc.
NantHealth, a member of the NantWorks ecosystem of companies,
provides enterprise solutions that help businesses transform
complex data into actionable insights. By offering efficient ways
to move, interpret, and visualize complex and highly sensitive
information, NantHealth helps its customers in healthcare, life
sciences, logistics, telecommunications, and other industries, to
automate, understand, and act on data while keeping it secure and
scalable. NantHealth’s product portfolio comprises the latest
technology in molecular analysis (GPS Cancer), payer/provider
collaboration platforms for real-time coverage decision support
(NaviNet and Eviti), and Data Products that provide multi-data
analysis, reporting and professional services offerings. OpenNMS, a
NantHealth subsidiary, helps businesses monitor and manage network
health and performance. For more information, visit nanthealth.com,
follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our
blog.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains certain statements of a
forward-looking nature relating to future events or future business
performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the
words “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,”
“plans,” “will,” “outlook” and similar expressions. Forward-looking
statements are based on management’s current plans, estimates,
assumptions and projections, and speak only as of the date they are
made. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our
ability to successfully integrate a complex learning system to
address a wide range of healthcare issues; our ability to
successfully amass the requisite data to achieve maximum network
effects; appropriately allocating financial and human resources
across a broad array of product and service offerings; raising
additional capital as necessary to fund our operations; achieving
significant commercial market acceptance for our sequencing and
molecular analysis solutions; establish relationships with, key
thought leaders or payers’ key decision makers in order to
establish GPS Cancer as a standard of care for patients with
cancer; our ability to grow the market for our Systems
Infrastructure, and applications; successfully enhancing our
Systems Infrastructure and applications to achieve market
acceptance and keep pace with technological developments; customer
concentration; competition; security breaches; bandwidth
limitations; our ability to integrate OpenNMS into our operations;;
our ability to obtain regulatory approvals; dependence upon senior
management; the need to comply with and meet applicable laws and
regulations; unexpected adverse events; clinical adoption and
market acceptance of GPS Cancer; and anticipated cost savings. We
undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in
light of new information or future events, except as otherwise
required by law. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks
and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and are
generally beyond our control. Actual results or outcomes may differ
materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements as
a result of the impact of a number of factors, many of which are
discussed in more detail in our reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
About ImmunityBio
ImmunityBio, Inc. is a late-clinical-stage immunotherapy company
developing next-generation therapies that drive immunogenic
mechanisms for defeating cancers and infectious diseases. The
company’s immunotherapy platform activates both the innate (natural
killer cell and macrophage) and adaptive (T cell) immune systems to
create long-term “immunological memory.” This novel approach is
designed to eliminate the need for high-dose chemotherapy, improve
upon the outcomes of current CAR T-cell therapies, and extend
beyond checkpoint inhibitors.
ImmunityBio’s platform is based on the foundation of three
separate modalities: antibody cytokine fusion proteins, synthetic
immunomodulators, and second-generation human adenovirus (hAd5)
vaccine technologies.
Anktiva™ (ImmunityBio’s lead cytokine infusion protein) is a
novel interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist complex and has received
Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designations from the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) for BCG-unresponsive CIS non-muscle
invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The company is also in Phase 2 or
3 trials for indications such as first- and second-line lung
cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, metastatic pancreatic
cancer, recurrent glioblastoma, and soft tissue sarcoma in
combination with the company’s synthetic immune modulator
(aldoxorubicin).
ImmunityBio is also developing therapies, including vaccines,
for the prevention and treatment of HIV, influenza, and the
coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 with its second-generation human adenovirus
(hAd5) vaccine technologies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning or
implying that ImmunityBio will be successful in improving the
treatment of various diseases, including, but not limited to the
novel coronavirus and cancer. Risks and uncertainties related to
this endeavor include, but are not limited to, the company’s
beliefs regarding the success, cost, and timing of its development
activities and clinical trials.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute
guarantees of future performance, and you are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and we
disclaim any obligation to update these statements except as may be
required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201117005324/en/
Jen Hodson NANT Jen@nant.com 562-397-3639
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