Blood Advances Publishes Cellworks Prospective Genomic Biosimulation Study that Predicts Cancer Therapy Response with 90% Accuracy
Study Uses NGS Data with Biosimulation to Predict Drug Response in AML and MDS Patients
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellworks Group, Inc., a leader in Precision Medicine and a global pioneer of Therapy Response Index (TRI) technology, today announced that Blood Advances, an American Society of Hematology Journal, published results from the iCare 1 Clinical Study, which used Cellworks Genomic Biosimulation platform to predict therapy responses for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) patients. The prospective study was designed to assess the biological and clinical predictive values of the genomics-informed computational biology modeling (CBM) of patients with AML and MDS by comparing biosimulated predictions of treatment responses with actual clinical responses.
The iCare 1 prospective study demonstrated 90% accuracy for predicting response to Standard of Care (SOC) treatments in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) patients. Cellworks’ unique genomics-informed CBM technology was used in this study to understand the mechanisms of relapse after chemotherapy treatment and to propose new re-induction treatment options for the relapsed patients in this study.
“Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revealed a high number of genomic abnormalities in each MDS and AML patient, as well as a high level of diversity among patients,” said Dr. Christopher R. Cogle, MD., Professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine. “As clinicians, our greatest challenge is to interpret this high number of genomic abnormalities and genomic diversity into a personalized treatment for our patients. The limitations of time in clinic and the complexity of each patient’s disease demand that we use technologies like Cellworks biosimulation for the best care of our patients.”
Cellworks’ computational biology modeling (CBM) and digital drug biosimulation platform relies on somatic gene mutations and gene copy number variations (CNVs) found in individual MDS or AML patients. Genomic abnormalities are converted by the computational system into patient-specific protein networks to generate a virtual disease model. The patient-specific disease models are then interrogated using a drug library via biosimulations based on mathematical modeling to predict phenotype response including inhibition of disease cell proliferation and survival.
For this prospective study, 120 patients with AML or MDS were recruited to assess the predictive accuracy of Cellworks CBM by comparing computer predictions of treatment response to actual clinical outcomes. Of the 120 patients, 96 patients had full genomic testing profiles and 50 were eligible for evaluation based on length of follow-up. For the 50 patients, 61 treatments were administered. Cellworks CBM maps of the 32% relapsed samples from iCare 1 patients accurately matched the patient's nonresponse of treatment at relapse and identified mechanisms for chemo-resistance in these patients.
“NGS alone does not provide enough information to deliver personalized oncology,” said Yatin Mundkur, CEO of Cellworks. “By using NGS data as input to biosimulation modeling, we can accurately predict individual patient therapy responses and prevent patients from undergoing unnecessary therapy regimens, thereby avoiding toxic side effects. By improving the accuracy of the treatment selection, we can also reduce health care costs and help increase physician productivity.”
Cellworks is transforming personalized cancer therapy through genomic biosimulation software models that represent biomolecular and physiological pathways using the genomic data of each patient. Cellworks personalized medicine predictions help transform lives through the early adoption of successful therapies, while saving time and cost across the healthcare ecosystem. Cellworks also benefits the biopharma industry through virtual clinical trials, improved target identification, lead validation and the ability to repurpose and rescue drugs.
About Cellworks Group, Inc.
Cellworks Group, Inc. is a world leader in Precision Medicine in the key therapeutic areas of Oncology and Immunology. The Cellworks unique biosimulation platform is a unified representation of biological knowledge, curated from heterogeneous datasets, applied to finding cures. Backed by Sequoia Capital and Artiman Ventures, Cellworks has the world’s strongest transdisciplinary team of molecular biologists, cellular pathway modelers and machine learning software technologists working toward a common goal – attacking serious diseases to improve the lives of patients. The company is based in San Francisco, California with a research and development facility in Bangalore, India. For more information, visit www.cellworks.life and follow us on Twitter @CellworksLife.
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