INOVIQ Limited (ASX:IIQ) has expanded its collaboration with The University of Queensland (UQ) to develop a world-first exosome-based ovarian cancer screening test.
Using exosomes as a source of accurate biomarkers for cancer Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicle (EV) that are small particles (around 30-150 nm) released by most cells into biofluids such as blood, urine and saliva.
Exosomes contain different types of bioactive molecules such as DNAs, RNAs, proteins and lipids that convey important information about their parent cell that can be used for the identification of biomarkers, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
INOVIQ’s EXO-NET technology efficiently captures exosomes from the blood to enable development of multiomic diagnostic tests that combine the multiple biomarkers in an algorithm for the earlier and more accurate detection of various diseases such as cancer, inflammatory, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases.
Background – compelling initial data from UQ
Previously, INOVIQ announced that researchers from UQ identified and validated exosomal protein and micro RNA (miRNA) biomarkers that combined in the OCRF-7 algorithm showed over 90% accuracy to detect Stages 1 and 2 ovarian cancer in an independent 500-sample retrospective case-control study.
Additionally, UQ conducted an initial evaluation of INOVIQ’s patented EXO-NET pan-exosome capture product compared to UQ’s in-house size exclusion chromatography method for isolation of the relevant exosomal biomarkers.
They concluded that EXO-NET provided simple and rapid capture of the exosomal biomarkers with high purity and yield. Collaboration expansion INOVIQ and UQ have now expanded their collaboration to further evaluate EXO-NET and, if successful, UQ will use EXO-NET technology in the development of the UQ OCRF-7 ovarian cancer test.
The collaborative partnership is under an Umbrella Research and Option Agreement that allows the parties to put in place specific project agreements over time when required for the ongoing development of the UQ OCRF-7 ovarian cancer test.
INOVIQ worked with UQ’s commercialisation company UniQuest to negotiate this agreement which provides INOVIQ with an exclusive option to license UQ’s intellectual property in the OCRF-7 ovarian cancer test.
The first project involves the further evaluation and use of EXO-NET to identify additional informative biomarkers for inclusion in UQ’s OCRF-7 ovarian cancer test. INOVIQ will provide its EXO-NET product, in-kind expertise, and research funding. This project is expected to be completed within 12 weeks. On the basis of a successful outcome, EXO-NET will then be used for exosome isolation in the ongoing development of UQ’s exosome-based earlier detection test for ovarian cancer. This includes UQ’s translational research project funded by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), under which INOVIQ will contribute its EXO-NET exosome capture product, in-kind expertise and pay patent costs
There is currently no accurate and reliable blood test available for screening ovarian cancer. The combination of INOVIQ’s EXO-NET technology to capture exosomes and UQ’s novel exosomal biomarkers is expected to allow significantly improved earlier and more accurate detection of ovarian cancer,” INOVIQ CEO, Dr Leearne Hinch, said.
“INOVIQ is excited to collaborate with Associate Professor Salomon Gallo’s team at UQ to develop and commercialise this world-first exosome-based ovarian cancer screening test to improve women’s health outcomes and help save lives.”