14 May 2018 - - Dortmund, Germany-based diagnostics developer Protagen AG has commenced a collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to utilize Protagen's SeroTag technology to investigate the immuno-profiling of prostate cancer patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors and therapeutic vaccines, the company said.
Through the collaboration, Protagen and UCSF intend to provide further insight into utilizing immune system profiling to predict treatment response and monitor prostate cancer patients for irAEs, specifically, a so-called cold tumor that it is difficult to target with immuno-therapies.
UCSF is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
It includes top ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, transitional and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise.
Protagen is dedicated to the development of precision diagnostic tools that aid successful therapeutic development and facilitate improved treatment strategies in the areas of immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease.
The company is currently using SeroTag to uncover the power of autoantibodies as biomarkers for irAE and therapeutic response prediction in cancer, which will enable the development of safer, more effective immunotherapies.