The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and ARTIDIS AG today announced a strategic alliance to investigate ARTIDIS technology as a novel treatment-optimization tool for patients with solid tumors in several distinct indications.
Supported by previous scientific evidence, the ARTIDIS atomic force microscopy (AFM) technology rapidly captures the physical properties of cells and their microenvironment at the nanometer level while preserving the tissue for future use. Within the scope of the alliance, MD Anderson and ARTIDIS researchers will collaboratively evaluate, using the ARTIDISNET platform, the combination of nano-scale physical properties of the tumor and corresponding clinical data to help identify biomarker signatures that suggest optimal therapeutic approaches.
Through collaboration with experts in MD Anderson's Divisions of Radiation Oncology and Surgery, ARTIDIS expects to build evidence supporting subsequent regulatory submissions in solid tumors, with an initial focus on neoadjuvant applications for chemotherapy and radiotherapy/immunotherapy.
"As clinicians, we strive to gather as much evidence as possible to design a tailored treatment strategy for each patient. This technology gives us a distinct profile of the cancer that may provide unique insights about how to improve treatment outcomes for patients," said principal investigator Eugene Koay, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson. "We are pleased to collaborate with the team at ARTIDIS to investigate their innovative nanotechnology platform, and we hope this effort will bring novel strategies to beat cancer."
As part of the research alliance, MD Anderson and ARTIDIS researchers will work together on clinical utility studies to guide indications for the use of the device. The ARTIDIS team aims to pursue biomarker development avenues that will support the incorporation of ARTIDIS testing into national cancer guidelines and standards of care. MD Anderson clinicians will lead validation and proof-of-concept studies to evaluate the ARTIDIS technology as a tool for predicting response to treatment in multiple solid tumor indications.
"We are proud to collaborate with MD Anderson in the pursuit of demonstrating how the nanomechanical phenotypes of malignant tissues are highly predictive to indicate which tumors will metastasize and respond to treatment," said Marija Plodinec, Ph.D., chief executive officer and co-founder of ARTIDIS. "Together we will work to actively drive optimal treatment options for patients with cancer."
The strategic alliance with MD Anderson builds on a previous sponsored research agreement with James Welsh, M.D., professor of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson, focusing on understanding immunotherapy resistance and response . Additionally, ARTIDIS has shown that nanomechanical alteration in cancer tissue is a potentially suitable marker for cancer aggressiveness and indicator of treatment response. This finding was clinically validated in a prospective study of 545 patients that used nanomechanical profiling to evaluate benign and malignant breast lesions. Moreover, ARTIDIS results suggested that nanomechanical changes may predict response rate and outcome of treatment.
Under the terms of the agreement, MD Anderson is eligible to receive payments based on the achievement of certain clinical milestones and commercial sales.