Natera announced a new partnership with Diakonos Oncology to support refractory melanoma research through Signatera. The refractory melanoma study will examine molecular response in patients receiving investigational treatment. In addition, the collaboration allows researchers to study disease activity over time. Therefore, teams may gain earlier insight into treatment progress during the refractory melanoma trial.
The DOC-RM Phase I/II study started enrollment in May. Moreover, the trial evaluates DOC1021, also called dubodencel, an investigational dendritic cell therapy. The therapy recently received FDA Fast Track designation for unresectable or metastatic cutaneous melanoma. At the same time, Natera plans to analyse circulating tumour DNA across several treatment stages.
“With an FDA Fast Track designation in hand, DOC1021’s path forward in refractory melanoma will benefit from early, high-quality evidence of activity,” said Jay Hartenbach, president and COO of Diakonos Oncology. “Natera’s Signatera test is the most trusted tumour-informed MRD platform in oncology, making them a natural partner to help evaluate molecular response in a population where imaging often lags the biology.”
New Collaboration Supports Molecular Response Research
Researchers continue searching for better answers in difficult cancer cases. However, many melanoma patients stop responding to immunotherapy over time. Therefore, clinicians continue exploring ways to monitor disease activity earlier. Serial ctDNA testing may provide stronger visibility into molecular response before imaging results appear.
“Signatera is uniquely positioned to help biopharma partners evaluate molecular response throughout the course of therapy, and we are thrilled to partner with Diakonos on this exciting program,” said Eric Matthews, general manager, BioPharma, Natera. “By assessing MRD status across multiple timepoints, this collaboration has the potential to provide deep insight into treatment response dynamics and support future development efforts for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.”
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News Source: Businesswire.com
