NEW YORK – Cell-based drug developer Avalon GloboCare said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lu Daopei Hematology Institute to codevelop precision companion diagnostics for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies.
Under the deal, the company plans to work with China’s LDHI to explore CDx for both its ongoing and future cellular immunotherapy-related clinical programs. In support of this, Avalon also announced that it has appointed LDHI Executive President Hongxing Liu to its scientific and clinical advisory board.
"There is a need for better, faster ways to assess patients' immune profiles to provide personalized immunotherapies," Liu said in a statement. "Patients with cancer whose care incorporates the use of appropriate companion diagnostics as part of their initial assessment have historically seen a greater survival benefit than those who were not tested," he added.
Freehold, New Jersey-based Avalon called LDHI "a premiere hematology research institute" with expert capabilities for diagnostics development, including genomic, proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic platforms.
"LDHI will be an ideal partner that has the expertise and capabilities to conduct laboratory and analytic work on cancer biomarkers and precision medicine, as well as access to the clinical and bioinformatics database of the Lu Daopei Hospital," David Jin, Avalon's president and CEO, said in a statement.
According to the company, the agreement with LDHI is subject to negotiation and execution of definitive documentation acceptable to both parties.