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SOUTHERN EUROPE
European Biotechnology | Autumn Edition | Vol. 17 | 2018
Tracking cancer risk genes
Liquid biopsy exOsOme DiagnOstics Even though they’re in the nanometer range, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have started to make it big: According to Market Research Future, the global liquid biopsy market currently values around US$3.9bn and is projected to reach the valuation of US$17.4bn by 2022. “The two major fields for clinical applications will be diagnostics and cell-free regenerative medicine,” believes Antonio Chiesi, the CEO of Italian company Exosomics Siena. “Drug delivery and vaccine applications are also progressing, but I think there will be serious safety and regulatory issues to be addressed before entering clinical use.” Now Exosomics Siena and Swiss pharma company Lonza launched their first proprietary liquid biopsy solution for the selective isolation of tumor-derived nucleic acids from complex biofluids such as plasma or serum. Distinct from current liquid biopsy methods – in which total nucleic acids are harvested from blood with low amounts of tumor-derived genetic material – Exosomics Siena’s technology (SeleCTEV™-DNA and SortEV™-RNA) use a unique affinity method to select tumor-derived exosomes from which the DNA or RNA, respectively, can be extracted.
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Open Data Cancer may be due to lifestyle or pure chance, but a major cause is genetic predisposition. Three researchers at the Barcelona Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have developed a new statistical method to identify cancer risk genes from tumour sequencing data (Nat. Comm, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-049007). The publication identifies ten new candidate cancer predisposition genes. Their computational method refers to an old idea that cancer genes often require “two hits“ before they cause cancer. “We applied our method to the genome sequences of more than 10,000 cancer patients with 30 different tumour types and identified known and new possible cancer predisposition genes that have the potential to contribute substantially to cancer risk,” says Ben Lehner, principal investigator for the study. The method allows scientists to find risk variants without a control sample and systematically identify these genes
from existing cancer genome datasets. The researchers worked with genome data from several cancer studies from around the world, including The Cancer Genome Atlas project, among others. Ben Lehner adds: “Our work highlights how important it is to share genomic data. It is a success story for how being open is far more efficient and has a multiplier effect. We combined data from many different projects and by applying a new computational method were able to identify important cancer genes that were not identified by the original studies. Many patient groups lobby for better sharing of genomic data because it is only by comparing data across hospitals, countries, and diseases that we can obtain a deep understanding of many rare and common diseases. Unfortunately, many researchers still do not share their data and this is something we need to L actively change as a society.”
For history’s sake aquisitiOn Since the death of longtime chief executive Giovanniy Recordati in August 2016, his family, which holds 51 percent of the company through its investment vehicle Fimei SpA., has been considering a sale. In June, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners agreed to buy control of the Italian drugmaker. CVC will pay €2.3bn in cash, and €750m in subordinated longterm debt securities to buy the family’s stake, according to a statement from Recordati. “I believe that this is a great outcome for the company and its employees, who will benefit greatly from having CVC as a partner,” states Andrea Recordati, who will remain as CEO and invest alongside the consortium. Recordati’s history began in 1926, when Giovanni Recordati created Laboratorio Farmacologico Reggiano, the predecessor to Recordati SpA, in the northern city of Correggio. Giovanni
died in 1952 and left the company to his son, Arrigo, who moved it to Milan a year later and began expanding research and development, product lines, and access to markets outside of Italy. Arrigo died in 1999, bequeathing the business to his four children, and putting management in the hands of his son Giovanni, who died last year, leaving his share to his wife. “It was important to find a party that would allow Recordati to remain independent, with continuity for management and employees, and accelerate its growth strategy as a leading global consolidator in the pharmaceutical industry,“ states Andrea Recordati. Recordati’s research is focused on the development of new drugs in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular and urology. Its most important product is Lercanidipine, a new generation calcium channel blocker for the treatment of high L blood pressure.
13.09.2018 13:41:12 Uhr