NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Swedish diagnostics firm Immunovia today announced a collaboration on a diagnostic test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement, the partners will confirm, validate, and commercialize the Immray PanCan-d blood test. A retrospective study using patients samples from OHSU's Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care will seek to confirm earlier results from studies in Europe and China with a US population. The partners will also explore biomarkers for other cancer types.
Immunovia's Immray platform creates a proteomic snapshot of the patient's immune response, which changes in response to the disease. The test analyzes and characterizes samples using a multiplexed antibody microarray. OHSU said in a statement that it would use the platform in its work to develop precision cancer treatments and that Immray would eventually be employed as part of its early detection research program.
"Our goal is to establish Immray PanCan-d as a standard amongst pancreatologists and diabetes physicians worldwide for detecting pancreatic cancer in high-risk groups much earlier than is possible today," Immunovia CEO Mats Grahn said in a statement.
The partners said they would also look to develop tests for other cancers using the Immray technology.
In May, OHSU announced a collaboration with the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on integrating omics research.