TIDMOBD
Oxford BioDynamics PLC
19 March 2019
19 March 2019
Oxford BioDynamics Plc
("OBD" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the
"Group")
Oxford BioDynamics joins Imperial College London in a trial
evaluating novel methods of screening for prostate cancer
-- Diagnosis of prostate cancer at a curable stage is currently challenging
-- The PROSTAGRAM trial, funded by Wellcome Trust, The Urology
Foundation (TUF) and The British Medical Association (BMA), aims to
assess the role of diagnostic approaches for prostate cancer
screening
-- Agreement signed with Imperial College London for prospective
evaluation of participants with an established signature of
EpiSwitch(TM) biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis
Oxford BioDynamics Plc announces that it has signed an agreement
with Imperial College London to utilise its latest EpiSwitch(TM)
biomarker signature for the blood-based diagnosis of prostate
cancer in the PROSTAGRAM trial (Prostate Cancer Screening Trial
Using a Group of Radiological Approaches Including MRI and
Ultrasound), led by Professor Hashim Ahmed, Professor and Chair of
Urology at Imperial College London and funded by the Wellcome
Trust, TUF and BMA. The aim of the PROSTAGRAM trial is to assess
the role of a number of diagnostic approaches, including magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) and multiparametric ultrasound to screen
for prostate cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement, OBD will evaluate the
participants enrolled in the study for prostate cancer, with its
EpiSwitch(TM) proprietary diagnostic biomarker assay. OBD's assay
for prostate cancer is based on six epigenetic systemic blood-based
markers and was developed in collaboration with Mr Mathias Winkler,
Consultant Urological Surgeon at Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial
College Healthcare NHS Trust; and Professor Dmitry Pshezhetskiy,
Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia.
The assay has been developed across several cohorts of over 290
patients, with varying disease stages. It has demonstrated
consistent sensitivity and specificity of >80% in three blinded
validations. In its latest format, performed in MIQE-compliant
real-time PCR readouts on blood, the test demonstrated 90%
sensitivity and 85% specificity, with a positive predictive value
of 90%.
Prostate cancer remains one of the most common causes of cancer
death in men, with over 11,000 deaths in UK per year.(1) The life
time risk of death from prostate cancer in the UK is 4.3%, with
mortality rates consistently higher than breast cancer
mortality.(2) The introduction of a viable population-based
screening programme for prostate cancer has been a long-standing
consideration.
Currently, diagnosis for prostate cancer remains challenging.
Current clinical practice involves testing Prostate-Specific
Antigen (PSA) levels in the blood. However, the UK National
Screening Committee recommends against a universal screening
programme due to the limitations of PSA as a screening test, which
it describes as a "poor test for prostate cancer". In fact, there
is no country or international body that recommends routine PSA
screening for all men. The PSA blood test has been reported by
independent studies to demonstrate sensitivities and specificities
within the range of 32 and 68%.
The PROSTAGRAM trial has initiated enrolment and plans to
recruit 406 male participants, aged 50 to 69 years old. The
recruitment period is expected to last 24 months.
Alexandre Akoulitchev, Chief Scientific Officer of Oxford
BioDynamics, said:
"Participation in this important trial into prostate cancer is a
significant milestone for Oxford BioDynamics. We are looking
forward to contributing our EpiSwitch(TM) blood-based readouts to
the comprehensive evaluation of these trial participants. We are
delighted to join forces with a team of world-leading experts in
prostate cancer, and looking forward to potentially improving the
detection of prostate cancer at a curable stage by aiding in the
development of prostate cancer screening programme."
Professor Hashim Ahmed, Chair of Urology at Imperial College
London and Chief Investigator, said:
"We look forward to this collaboration with Oxford BioDynamics,
there is an urgent need to identify an alternative circulating
prostate cancer marker and EpiSwitch(TM) has great potential."
Mr Mathias Winkler, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Charing Cross
Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and
Co-investigator, added:
"Following on from our previous collaboration in the development
phase for this unique prostate cancer signature we are delighted to
explore its potential in a clinical study. Epigenetic information
is not yet exploited in prostate cancer management and has the
potential to add information on the lethality of cancer at the
point of diagnosis."
References
(1) Cancer Research UK. Prostate cancer statistics. 2016.
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/prostate-cancer
(2) Lloyd T, Hounsome L, Mehay A, Mee S, Verne J, Cooper A.
Lifetime risk of being diagnosed with, or dying from, prostate
cancer by major ethnic group in England 2008-2010. BMC Medicine
2015;13:171.
-ENDS-
For further details please contact:
Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Christian Hoyer Millar,
CEO
Paul Stockdale, CFO +44 (0)1865 518910
FTI Consulting
Financial Public Relations
Adviser
Brett Pollard
Natalie Garland-Collins +44 (0)20 3727 1000
Notes for Editors
About Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) ("Oxford BioDynamics") is a
biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of
epigenetic biomarkers for use within the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industry.
The Company's award-winning, proprietary technology platform,
EpiSwitch(TM), aims to accelerate the drug discovery and
development process, improve the success rate of therapeutic
product development and take advantage of the increasing importance
of personalised medicine.
In particular, EpiSwitch(TM) can reduce time to market, failure
rates and the costs at every stage of drug discovery. Additionally,
the technology provides significant insights into disease
mechanisms for drug discovery and product re--positioning
programmes and enables the personalisation of therapeutics for
patients in the context of challenging pricing environments where
improved clinical outcomes are critical.
Oxford BioDynamics is headquartered in the UK, and listed on the
London Stock Exchange's AIM under the ticker "OBD". For more
information please visit www.oxfordbiodynamics.com.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
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END
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