LATTICE BIOLOGICS OFFERING EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO REVOLUTIONARY HIGH-THROUGHPUT PRECISION CHEMOTHERAPY SCREENING FOR BREAST CANCER
Company is developing cutting edge technology to enter the $35B cancer tumor profiling market
April 15, 2016 - Scottsdale, AZ - Lattice Biologics Ltd. (TSX-V: LBL) (OTCBB: BLVKF) is offering select breast reconstruction surgeons across the U.S. and Canada zero-cost access to what we aim to be the fastest and most clinically predictive cancer diagnostic. This unique opportunity comes on the heels of the commencement of the Company’s revolutionary new cancer screening study with the esteemed Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI). The goal of the study is to demonstrate the life-saving speed and precision of high-throughput cancer screening methods when combined with Lattice Biologics’ proprietary technology used to accurately mimic the natural cancer tumor microenvironment, thus producing reliable treatment analytics.
Lattice Biologics will provide this unparalleled trial diagnostic service free of cost to a limited number of surgeons using the Company’sAdMatrix ADM Dermal Scaffold allografts (human acellular biologic made from donated human dermal tissue) for post-mastectomy breast reconstruction surgeries. AdMatrix is a natural collagen scaffold that remodels patients’ dermal tissue after surgery and reabsorbs into their own skin for a biocompatible, natural repair. This allograft offers the benefits of strong incorporation results, extremely low seroma rates, and increased cellular growth, tissue vascularization, and tissue regeneration for optimal healing.
NEW DIAGNOSTIC MECHANISM DRIVES RELIABLE CANCER TREATMENT PLANS: The high-throughput screening methods being explored by Lattice Biologics and SRI are expected to enable scientists to analyze the effects of up to 10,000 anticancer drug permutations on a patient’s specific tumor cells within just 24 hours. The approach capitalizes on Lattice’s Biologics’ advanced extracellular matrix (ECM) technology which can recreate a realistic microenvironment in which to grow patient tumor biopsies within a laboratory setting, providing the potential for a novel true-to-life view of individual cancer tumor cellular behavior.
Analysis under genuine human conditions is expected to provide oncologists with exact recommendations for drugs, combinations, and dosages by permitting review of the full array of cancer treatment possibilities. Meanwhile, high content screening will lend precious speed to the process, positioning patients for success. The diagnostics service is extremely expedited, with a one-week turnaround anticipated.
“Ultimately, this technology may allow rapid, accurate, and patient-specific personalized cancer care that stands to revolutionize the field,” states Dr. Danny Enepekides, MD, FRCSC, MPH, Chief of Surgical Oncology and Regional Surgical Oncology Lead, CCO for the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and University of Toronto. “The ability to analyze chemo-sensitivity in patient-derived tumor specimens grown in vitro using ECM to mimic the natural human microenvironment may provide oncologists the ability to deliver the best cancer care possible. This is very exciting.”
“Lattice Biologic’s ECM technology is revolutionary in its unparalleled ability to accurately recreate complex tumor microenvironments because it allows us to grow biopsies from patients’ own cancer tumors in the laboratory, subject the tumors to multiple anticancer drugs, and observe the resulting behaviors all while sustaining natural conditions,” states Guy Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Lattice Biologics.
“This,” continues Cook, “will provide a never-before-seen understanding of how individual patients’ tumors respond to specific treatments, allowing physicians to prescribe anticancer treatments with new accuracy. This level of personalized medicine will change the entire cancer treatment game.”
MOVING BEYOND TODAY’S TREATMENT LIMITATIONS: Currently, anticancer drugs are reviewed and approved specifically for different regions in the body, such as for pancreatic or ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, this approach overlooks how cancer cells really function and ignores the understanding that tumor response is not simply based on location within the body. Along this same line of thinking, the medical community’s standard approach to anticancer therapy selection depends mainly upon the location and grade of the tumor, stage of the disease, and general state of the patient. This generalized approach does not take into account the complex and unpredictable behavior of cancer cells and is notorious for missing the mark, resulting in medication with reduced healing potential and the development of drug resistances.
Improving upon this model, our new diagnostic tool allows us to analyze micro tumors’ susceptibility to an incredibly large number of anticancer drugs at once, including - importantly - those not approved for the tumor’s specific indication. In this way, if our screening method reveals that a patient’s breast cancer tumor cells respond to a drug that has been approved for a different indication, we can provide this personalized feedback along with recommended dosage and any beneficial combinations.
PARTICIPATION IN THIS PRECISION CHEMOTHERAPY SCREENING PROGRAM: 12 renowned plastic surgeons specializing in breast reconstruction currently participate in Lattice Biologics’ Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for the implementation and research of this technology. The Company is looking to increase surgeon participation while the technology is still in a trial period before being established as a proven diagnostic tool. As capacity ramps up, Lattice and SRI are preparing to provide analysis of up to 400 individual cases per month.
Surgeons interested in learning more about this special new diagnostics service should contact Lattice Biologics CEO, Guy Cook at gcook@LatticeBiologics.com| mobile: 406-570-2658.
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STUDY BACKGROUND: On March 30, 2016, Lattice Biologics announced the commencement of an Industry Sponsored Collaboration Agreement with Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Ontario titled, “Conditional Reprogramming of Epithelial Cells to Determine Mechanisms of Resistance and Drug Sensitivity.” The purpose of the study is to develop new research methods for generating and observing natural tumor response to anticancer drugs within a laboratory environment and identify drug resistance and sensitivity on a patient-specific level. The success of these new methods would lead to the commercialization of high content screening (HCS) chemosensitivity testing for cancer patients.