NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – France's Institut Curie will test the efficacy of Freenome's artificial intelligence-powered genomics platform for studying changes in circulating cell-free DNA to predict patient response to immuno-oncology treatments, the partners said today.
Researchers will use Freenome's Adaptive Genomics Engine technology, which combines genome-wide sequencing and machine learning, to analyze patterns in cell-free DNA.
"Our approach incorporates a variety of biological signals, such as genomic, proteomic, and epigenetic changes, providing new insights into possible mechanisms of resistance and guiding treatment selection for patients," Blandine Merino, Freenome's vice president of business development, said in a statement.
The collaboration will kick off with South San Francisco, California-based Freenome analyzing samples from Curie's Analysis of Circulating Tumor Markers in the Blood (ALCINA) trial. This trial is attempting to establish correlations between various circulating biomarkers and human response to PD-1 inhibitors, according to the Paris-based institute.
"This agreement is one of the first at the Institut Curie with a company specializing in both cell-free biomarkers and applying machine learning to large data sets," noted Amaury Martin, head of technology transfer for the institute. "The technologies developed by Freenome will fully benefit our patients and its access within the institute will speed up future collaborations for developing and validating predictive tests."