Epistem seals drug discovery deal with AstraZeneca

EpiStem plc of Manchester, UK said it entered into feasibility studies with AstraZeneca plc to use its plucked hair biomarker technology to inform preclinical and clinical development of new cancer drugs.

EpiStem’s biomarker technology has the potential to measure the effects of new cancer treatments over time in a minimally invasive manner. The technology will be applied in the early-stage assessment of drugs in preclinical development, thereby assisting go/no-go decisions and reducing the risk of an expensive drug failure in later clinical trials.

The technology has evolved from the discovery by EpiStem of a link between the stem cells in the small intestine and the hair follicle. It works by taking plucked human hairs at various times during cancer treatment and analysing changes in gene expression. Gene expression change in hairs can provide a measure of drug exposure, toxicity, dose/schedule and patient selection in preclinical and clinical drug development.

This approach also has the potential to offer oncologists a simple means of treating cancer patients more effectively.

Jeff Moore, Managing Director of Novel Therapies at EpiStem, said, “The FDA has made it clear that it wants new drugs to have biomarkers that show the direct impact of that drug.”

“We believe that our technology will accelerate the development of new cancer therapeutics throughout development and is well placed to improve the effectiveness of existing treatment regimens.”