Lonza Pharma & Biotech backs Exosomics Siena S.p.A. as they launch first products for next-generation research and diagnostic applications.
Exosomics Siena’s technology to bring new, highly selective solutions for cancer detection, characterization and monitoring.
Siena (IT) and Basel (CH), 13 July 2018 – Exosomics Siena S.p.A., a pioneer and world leader in exosome-based diagnostics, today announced the launch of its first proprietary liquid biopsy solutions, SeleCTEV™ DNA and SortEV™ RNA, for the selective isolation of tumor-derived nucleic acids from complex biofluids such as plasma or serum.
Distinct from current liquid biopsy methods, where total nucleic acids are harvested from blood with low amounts of tumor-derived genetic material, Exosomics Siena’s technologies can provide pre-analytical kits based on enriched tumor-derived exosomes and therefore enriched tumor-derived genetic material.
Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles present in all human biofluids and contain DNA, RNA and proteins originating from their parent cells. Enriching tumor exosomes, based on relevant pan-tumor markers, offers a more specific and sensitive diagnostic approach when compared with traditional liquid biopsy methods.
SeleCTEV™-DNA and SortEV™-RNA kits are novel and simple solutions that exploit Exosomics Siena’s proprietary technology to purify tumor-derived exosomes. Each technology uses a unique affinity method to select tumor-derived exosomes from which the DNA or RNA, respectively, can be extracted. At this time, the kits are released for research use only.
Exosomics Siena is also working on the development and optimization of an early pan-cancer screening assay for asymptomatic patients projected to enter the clinical phase in 2021. The Cancer-rEVeal™ assay will demonstrate both the power of exosomes as a vehicle of multiple classes of biomarkers relevant for next-generation diagnostics and the unique expertise and approach of this growing company.
“Exosomics Siena is proud to announce the launch of the first products in its pipeline geared at enabling the next generation of liquid biopsy tests,” said Antonio Chiesi, MD, CEO of Exosomics Siena. “Our proprietary technology around tumor-exosome enrichment and isolation coupled with optimized nucleic acid extraction will allow analytical kit developers to create better assays to screen for, diagnose and monitor cancer patients.”
Behzad Mahdavi, PhD, MBA, Chairman of the Board for Exosomics Siena and Vice President, Strategic Innovation at Lonza, said: “As part of Lonza’s wider strategy in developing exosomes, we have chosen to invest in Exosomics Siena as we believe their approach will have advantages over other non-invasive cancer tests currently on the market or in development. Because Exosomics Siena has extensive expertise in harnessing the power of exosomes in cancer diagnostics, Lonza is supporting this innovative company as they develop a platform that will greatly benefit patients.”
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