Oncimmune Holdings plc (LON:ONC), the leading global immunodiagnostics group, has announced the signing of a commercial contract with a new top 10 global pharmaceutical company by revenue, initially focusing on the autoantibody profiling of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy.
Under the terms of this new contract, Oncimmune will utilise its specific high-throughput proprietary biomarker discovery platform, SeroTagTM, to identify autoantibodies related to CIDP. Specifically, ImmunoINSIGHTS will produce and validate CIDP specific antigens utilising the SeroTagTM platform to screen clinical samples from CIDP patients for related autoantibodies.
CIDP is a rare type of autoimmune disease which attacks the myelin sheaths, the fatty coverings intended to insulate and protect nerves. Often referred to as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in its acute phase, CIDP is chronic, difficult to diagnose and can lead to permanent physical impairment if not treated in its earliest stages.
Dr Adam M Hill, CEO of Oncimmune said: “We are pleased to announce this contract with another leading pharmaceutical company, adding to the growing list of global partners, working with us in the rare disease space where there is a real clinical need and opportunity to make a significant impact. This contract will make full use of the unique attributes of our SeroTagTM platform, and the competencies amongst our scientific colleagues, who are world leaders in autoimmune profiling.
“As is typical with SeroTagTM contracts, there is potential for the initial discovery work in autoantibodies to progress to further research and support for therapeutic development, creating and refining CIPD-specific NavigAIDTM panels using additional data and markers to guide drug development and inform patient and disease stratification.”
