GSK partners OncoMethylome for oncology treatment

OncoMethylome Sciences has announced that it has signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biologicals to work together on the development of DNA methylation biomarkers for the customisation of cancer treatment.

These biomarkers will be used to aid treatment with specified immunotherapeutics currently being developed by GSK Biologicals.

OncoMethylome reports that this partnership agreement is being supported by a Wallonia (BioWin) research grant previously announced by the company in April 2007.

Other financial details of this partnership have not been publicly disclosed by the companies.

Dr Jim DiGuiseppi, chief technology officer of OncoMethylome, said that the firm is happy that it has been chosen by GSK Biologicals for this collaboration.

“We look forward to using our high-throughput platform to efficiently test our portfolio of methylation biomarkers on clinical samples provided by GSK Biologicals,” he added.

Last week, OncoMethylome reported positive clinical trial results, with its biomarkers showing positive performance in the blood-based screening for colorectal cancer, with the test detecting 74 per cent of colon cancers and correctly identifying 92 per cent of control samples.

In August 2006, GSK signed extended drug development agreement with Genstruct, with the companies agreeing to continue their research using computer-assisted reasoning for the definition of biomarkers for patient stratification and drug response.