NEW YORK – BostonGene on Thursday said it will work with Prisma Health to analyze multiomics data to improve understanding of the molecular characteristics of rare tumors and predict efficacy of immunotherapies in these settings.
In the collaboration, BostonGene will analyze the tumor microenvironment (TME) mutational landscape and immune profiles of patients with rare solid tumors who are receiving checkpoint inhibitors in a Phase II trial that Prisma, a South Carolina-based nonprofit healthcare system, is conducting. In this study, researchers are evaluating the combination of AstraZeneca's checkpoint inhibitors Imfinzi (durvalumab) and Imjudo (tremelimumab-actl) in patients with certain advanced rare solid tumors.
The collaboration with BostonGene will add artificial intelligence-powered molecular profiling to the study. BostonGene will analyze tissue and peripheral blood samples collected at Prisma's Rare Tumor Center and use its multiomics computational platform to analyze genomic, transcriptomic, and immunoprofiling data from the TME as well as corresponding host-immune status and characterize somatic alterations, gene expression, fusions, tumor heterogeneity, the TME, and immune profiles.
"BostonGene's innovative solutions will provide a substantially deeper understanding of the molecular profiles of rare tumor patients, which could help us better determine what therapies work for which patients," Jeffrey Edenfield, medical director for Prisma Health's Institute for Translational Oncology Research and founder of the Rare Tumor Center, said in a statement. "We are excited about the opportunity to identify potential molecular markers of treatment response and, in turn, improve patient outcomes."