Of Mice and Men: Champions Biotechnology: Tumorgrafts Allow Mice, Not Patients, to be Guinea Pigs for Oncology Treatments

A recent market study estimated the market for chemotherapy drugs in the U.S. at $42 billion per year. Yet up to half of all chemotherapy is wasted because the prescription and administration of these therapies is based on trial and error.

Our client, Arlington, Va.-based Champions Biotechnology, is developing a novel platform for testing chemotherapy drugs before they are administered to patients. Champions’ technology, Biomerk Tumorgrafts™, re-creates a patient’s precise tumor type in mice.

Conventional in vitro chemotherapy agent testing occurs on stock cancer cell lines that differ significantly from an individual’s actual tumor. Moreover, standard testing is usually conducted on cultured cells that lack the physiological “niche” that makes cancer such a difficult disease to treat. A number of companies have begun to use a patient’s own cancer cells, but these too are typically cultured in Petri dishes. It is no surprise that tests on cultured cells – regardless of the source – have such poor predictive and prognosticative capabilities.

Researchers have recognized that even well-defined cancers differ significantly from patient to patient. Champions’ technology re-creates a patient’s own tumor tissue, within a living animal, preserving the key characteristics of the original human cancer.

Animals engrafted with human cancers in this way serve as test systems for:

• screening new anti-cancer drugs
• testing chemo drugs and combinations before prescribing to patients
• investigating and discovering biomarkers with applications in human cancer therapies

Taken together, the Tumorgraft platform could become a key enabler of personalized medicine – the “right drug, for the right patient, at the right time.”

Patients whose tumors are tested in this manner after a cancer diagnosis will enjoy several key benefits. They will be assured, first and foremost, of getting the most effective cancer treatment early in their care. Currently, patients are given a drug or combination which, in the oncologist’s best judgment, is most likely to work. In practice cancer patients often receive several courses of drugs that are ineffective or poorly tolerated before the optimal therapy is found. In the meantime precious time is lost and patients suffer intolerable side effects.

We would be very pleased to set up an interview with Dr. David Sidransky, Chairman and/or Dr. Manuel Hidalgo, Chief Scientific Officer at Champions, to discuss his company’s exciting work. Company management is also eager to submit bylined articles on the state of cancer care or the emerging field of personalized oncology. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit www.championsbiotechnology.com to learn more.