11 September 2019 - - US-based cancer genomics specialist Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSNL) has entered into a research agreement with French biopharmaceutical company Invectys, the company said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Personalis will provide comprehensive tumor immunogenomics capabilities to facilitate biomarker discovery in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients enrolled in a Phase II clinical trial assessing the efficacy of INVAC-1, a DNA plasmid encoding a modified human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) protein, as monotherapy or in combination with ibrutinib.

Invectys is now enrolling CLL patients in this Phase II, open-label, single-arm trial consisting of two patient groups: 45 patients receiving INVAC-1 as monotherapy and an additional 45 patients receiving INVAC-1 in combination with ibrutinib, a Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor.

The primary goal of the study is to achieve minimal residual disease negativity in both groups. The trial is being conducted at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Personalis, Inc. is a growing cancer genomics company transforming the development of next-generation therapies by providing more comprehensive molecular data about each patient's cancer and immune response.

The company's NeXT Platform is designed to adapt to the complex and evolving understanding of cancer, providing its biopharmaceutical customers with information on all of the approximately 20,000 human genes, together with the immune system, from a single tissue sample.

The Personalis Clinical Laboratory is GxP aligned as well as CLIA'88-certified and CAP-accredited.

Founded in 2010 at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Invectys SA is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative immuno-oncology treatments.

Invectys has raised EUR 38m. The company has developed a broad pipeline including one platform designed to provide low-cost, easy-to-administer cancer therapies, alone or in combination with other treatments such as immune checkpoint antibodies.

Invectys products aim to enlist and restore natural antitumor efficacy in cancer patients.