NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Karius said today that Nohla Therapeutics will use Karius' next-generation sequencing plasma test for pathogen detection in a randomized trial evaluating Nohla's lead product, a cellular therapy called NLA101, in acute myeloid leukemia patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.
Karius' test uses NGS to detect microbial cell-free DNA in plasma from more than a thousand pathogens from a single blood draw. The test will enable Nohla to easily monitor immunocompromised patients for infections, including from bacteria, DNA viruses, fungi, and protozoa.
Nohla will specifically use the test to evaluate infections in adult patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia who have received NLA101, a universal, off-the-shelf stem and progenitor cell therapy that has the potential to provide short-term hematopoietic recovery and possibly long-term immunologic and clinical benefits.
"Patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy have a higher risk of infectious complications which often are not detected by standard microbiologic techniques," Karius Medical Director David Hong said in a statement. "We are excited to work with Nohla as they advance patient care in patients with hematological malignancies."