NEW YORK – BostonGene and Japan's Saga University said Tuesday that they have entered a collaboration aimed at discovering biomarkers for immunotherapy treatment response and treatment-related toxicity in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company will work with Saga investigators on a study evaluating BostonGene's Tumor Portrait whole-exome and -transcriptome sequencing test to analyze tissue samples from patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC prior to targeted and immunotherapy treatment.
The aim is to assess the relationship between certain characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and responses to immune checkpoint inhibition in this patient population, as well as to track TME changes resulting from EGFR inhibitor therapy.
According to BostonGene, researchers will also study cases where small-cell transformation occurred as a mechanism of EGFR inhibitor resistance, aiming to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying this process within the TME.
BostonGene CEO Nathan Fowler said in a statement that the hope is that these revelations can equip oncologists with "more targeted and effective immunotherapy strategies for their patients."