Precision Therapeutics Subsidiary, TumorGenesis, Announces License Agreement with CellBridge Incorporated GlobeNewswire•March 21, 2018
MINNEAPOLIS, March 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Precision Therapeutics Inc.( AIPT) (“Precision” or “the Company”), formerly Skyline Medical, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, TumorGenesis Inc., has secured a license agreement with CellBridge Incorporated (“CellBridge”) which grants it access to CellBridge’s 3D biomimetic support technology. This follows the Company’s recently announced license agreements with SyntArray, LLC and 48Hour Discovery and is the latest milestone in the Company’s strategy to bring together ground-breaking technologies to develop the next generation of patient derived (“PDx”) tumor models for precision cancer therapy and drug development.
TumorGenesis is developing a new approach to growing tumor models in the laboratory that is faster, less costly and more closely mimics the characteristics of the patient’s tumor, than the traditional PDx animal models that are currently on the market. TumorGenesis’ innovative approach is comprised of three key steps: first, the tumor cells from the patient tumor biopsy are tagged using peptides targeted to the patient’s specific cancer cells; second, the tags adhere the cells to a 3D biomimetic support in the well of a standard 96 well microplate; and third, the tumor cells are grown in the 3D culture system until ready for testing.
CellBridge’s technology is used in the third step of this process. After the patient’s tumor cells have been screened, and the tumor has been disaggregated into all its component parts; the cancer cells are attached to CellBridge’s 3D biomimetic support technology using the targeted peptides, so as to reassemble the tumor. The 3D biomimetic support acts as a ‘scaffold’ on which the tumor is regrown, outside the patient’s body.
Dr. Carl Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of Precision Therapeutics, commented, “Our mission is to optimize clinical trial outcomes and advance the development of personalized therapies by using the most advanced Artificial Intelligence technology on the market. To advance this strategy, we are focused on bringing together complementary cutting-edge technologies to develop next generation PDx tumor models. The CellBridge ‘scaffold’, or 3D biomimetic support, allows us to regrow patient tumors in an external environment that closely mimics the patient’s body. The CellBridge agreement, together with our previously announced agreements with SyntArray, LLC and 48Hour Discovery, provides the technology needed to launch the TumorGenesis approach. We plan to use data generated from the tumor testing to continue the build out of the Helomic’s D-CHIP Artificial Intelligence (AI) database of tumor profiles and to generate revenues by offering clinical trial CRO services, in conjunction with Helomics, to pharmaceutical companies.”
Testing of patient tumors using the TumorGenesis approach is expected to:
a) Provide a personalized therapy protocol for a patient,
b) Provide high-quality data on cancer tumors for a platform based on the D-CHIP Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform of Helomics Corporation, pursuant to Precision Therapeutics’ partnership with Helomics, and
c) Drive partnerships with Pharma companies for the development of new therapies, generating revenues for Precision Therapeutics.
The TumorGenesis PDx model will initially be developed for three orphan cancers, Multiple Myeloma, Triple-Negative Breast cancer (TNBC) and Ovarian cancers, all of which are areas that have a high unmet need for new and effective treatments that are tailored to patients’ unique tumor profiles. Testing of the TumorGenesis PDx tumors will take place in collaboration with Helomics in their CLIA facility.
About Precision Therapeutics Inc.
Precision Therapeutics ( AIPT) operates in two business areas: first, applying artificial intelligence to personalized medicine and drug discovery to provide personalized medicine solutions for clients in the pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and biotech industries, and second, production of the FDA-approved STREAMWAY® System for automated, direct-to-drain medical fluid disposal.
Precision Therapeutics' CRO services business is committed to improving the effectiveness of cancer therapy using the power of artificial intelligence (AI) applied to rich data diseases databases. This business has launched with Precision Therapeutics' investment in Helomics Corporation, a precision diagnostic company and integrated clinical contract research organization whose mission is to improve patient care by partnering with pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and academic organizations to bring innovative clinical products and technologies to the marketplace. In addition to its proprietary precision diagnostics for oncology, Helomics offers boutique CRO services that leverage our patient-derived tumor models, coupled to a wide range of multi-omics assays (genomics, proteomics and biochemical), and a proprietary bioinformatics platform (D-CHIP) to provide a tailored solution to our client's specific needs. Helomics is 25% owned by Precision Therapeutics. Helomics® is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where the company maintains state-of-the-art, CLIA-certified, clinical and research laboratories. For more information, please visit www.Helomics.com. Precision Therapeutics has also announced the formation of a subsidiary, TumorGenesis to pursue a new rapid approach to growing tumors in the laboratory, which essentially “fools” the cancer cells into thinking they are still growing inside the patient. Precision Therapeutics and Helomics have also announced a proposed joint venture with GLG Pharma focused on using their combined technologies to bring personalized medicines and testing to ovarian and breast cancer patients, especially those who present with ascites fluid (over one-third of patients). The growth strategy in this business includes securing new partnerships and considering acquisitions in the precision medicine space.
