Friday, August 16, 2019
GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has acquired Select ImmunoGenomics, LLC, a Chapel Hill, NC-based provider of advanced immunogenomic, data analysis and biomarker development services to support the development of immuno-oncology drugs. The acquisition provides the combined company with a comprehensive, integrated set of RNA-based solutions to enhance drug development by identifying the right patients for oncology drugs, improving response rates and durability, and ultimately patient outcomes. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“There is growing recognition that many factors beyond gene mutations contribute to drug response, including gene expression, activation, and signaling pathways as well as adaptive and innate immune status,” said Dr. Myla Lai-Goldman, founder and Executive Chair of GeneCentric. “Integration of both companies’ technologies will uniquely allow us to capture the complexity of tumor biology in predictive response signatures to accelerate and add value to our partners’ drug development programs.”
Select ImmunoGenomics was founded by two University of North Carolina researchers, Benjamin Vincent, MD, an expert in computational immune-genomics, and Joel Parker, PhD, a genomics and data science expert. The company supported clients at research as well as at diagnostics and drug development organizations. Drs. Vincent and Parker will serve as advisors to GeneCentric.
“GeneCentric’s strengths in bioinformatics and RNA-based informatics are a natural fit with our immuno-therapeutics’ focus.” Said Dr. Benjamin Vincent, co-Founder of Select ImmunoGenomics. “While immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer care, a majority of patients still do not benefit. A huge challenge in the field is identifying which drugs will benefit which patients. Our computational genomics and systems biology approaches converge to address this challenge, as well as to apply genomics to develop more effective cancer therapies.”
“By joining Drs. Vincent and Parker’s technology platform to GeneCentric’s, the ability to advance predictive therapeutic response gene signatures grows substantially,” said Dr. Michael Milburn, CEO & President of GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc. “The combined technologies will create a wealth of opportunities for the company going forward.”
