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RNS Number : 4448Q
Oxford BioDynamics PLC
18 October 2023
Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Bupa UK to cover EpiSwitch(R) CiRT for customers with cancer
-- Bupa UK health insurance customers being considered for
checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy will now be offered the smart
blood test, which accurately predicts a cancer patient's response
to the treatment
-- The OBD Bupa UK partnership significantly enhances access to
CiRT in the UK and reflects Bupa's commitment to leveraging
advanced precision medicine testing to transform cancer care
Oxford, UK - 18 October, 2023 - Oxford BioDynamics, Plc (AIM:
OBD, the Company), a biotechnology company developing precision
medicine tests based on the EpiSwitch(R) 3D genomics platform and
Bupa, the UK's leading health insurer, announce a strategic
agreement to give Bupa patients access to OBD's EpiSwitch CiRT
(Checkpoint inhibitor Response Test).
The EpiSwitch CiRT is a first-of-its-kind blood test that
accurately predicts an individual cancer patient's therapeutic
response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), providing unique
benefits for physicians in treatment planning and navigating
complex decisions [1,2]. ICIs offer a real hope of durable disease
control for some patients. Despite pre-screening with current
standard tests such as tumor PD-L1 expression, these costly ICIs
offer a long-term survival advantage to less than 1 in 4 patients
[3], and many may become seriously ill and require hospital
admission.
Under this new agreement between Bupa and OBD , Bupa health
insurance customers who are being considered for immunotherapy with
an anti-PD-1/L1 ICI will be offered the CiRT test, ensuring their
doctor receives state-of-the-art personalized guidance to inform
their treatment plan. The partnership underscores the shared vision
of Bupa and OBD to improve the quality of patient care, while
sparing many individuals from unwarranted side effects from ICI
treatments that are ineffective for them.
The CiRT test will also be available to doctors considering
treating Bupa customers with an ICI, where decisions need to be
made in the face of potential serious illness and lack of response
to treatment.
Tim Woodman, Medical Director at Bupa UK Insurance, said: "
We're very pleased to launch our partnership with Oxford
BioDynamics which will give our customers a leap in confidence when
navigating complex decisions about their therapy.
" This agreement reflects our commitment to leverage advanced
precision medicine testing to transform cancer care and provide
doctors with the tools they need to make informed decisions.
Together with Oxford BioDynamics, we aim to make a positive impact
on the lives of all our customers living with cancer."
Dr Jon Burrows, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioDynamics,
said: "Joining forces with a pioneering healthcare organization
like Bupa will enhance access to the EpiSwitch CiRT test across the
UK. Gaining reimbursement from the UK's leading health insurer is
another milestone for the Company, as well as for Bupa customers
and their doctors.
"Current testing modalities lack the sensitivity, specificity
and accuracy to identify those most likely to benefit from this
class of therapy - the CiRT blood test is a first-of-its-kind test
that addresses all of these shortcomings."
This news follows EpiSwitch CiRT's sustained adoption in the US
[4], where a unique CPT PLA reimbursement code for the test has
been available for use by US payors since October 2022.
-Ends-
References
[1] Oxford BioDynamics Plc. (2022). EpiSwitch CiRT.
https://www.mycirt.com
[2] Hunter, E., et al. (2023). Development and validation of
blood--based predictive biomarkers for response to PD--1/PD-L1
checkpoint inhibitors: evidence of a universal systemic core of 3D
immunogenetic profiling across multiple oncological indications,
Cancers 15(10), 2696. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/15/10/2696
[3] Zhao, B.; Zhao, H.; Zhao, J. (2020). Efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1
blockade monotherapy in clinical trials, Therapeutic Advances in
Medical Oncology, Vol. 12.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1758835920937612
[4] Oxford BioDynamics Plc. (2023). Half-year report.
https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/oxford_biodynamics_plc/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=2040&newsid=1690889
For further details please contact:
Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Jon Burrows, CEO
Paul Stockdale, CFO +44 (0)1865 518910
Shore Capital
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Stephane Auton
Iain Sexton +44 (0)20 7408 4090
Instinctif Partners
Melanie Toyne-Sewell +44 (0)20 7457 2020
Rozi Morris OxfordBioDynamics@instinctif.com
Adam Loudon
Jack Kincade
Notes to Editors
About Oxford BioDynamics Plc
Oxford BioDynamics Plc (AIM: OBD) is a global biotechnology
company, advancing personalized healthcare by developing and
commercializing precision medicine tests for life-changing
diseases.
Its flagship products are the EpiSwitch(R) CiRT (Checkpoint
Inhibitor Response Test) and EpiSwitch(R) PSE (EpiSwitch Prostate
Screening test) blood tests. CiRT is a predictive immune response
profile for immuno-oncology (IO) checkpoint inhibitor treatments,
launched in February 2022. PSE is a blood test that boosts the
predictive accuracy of a PSA test from 55% to 94% when testing the
presence or absence of prostate cancer, which has been launched in
the US and UK in September 2023.
In March 2021, the Company launched its first commercial
prognostic test, EpiSwitch(R) CST (Covid Severity Test) and the
first commercially available microarray kit for high-resolution 3D
genome profiling and biomarker discovery, EpiSwitch(R) Explorer
Array Kit , which is available for purchase by the life science
research community.
The Company's product portfolio is based on a proprietary 3D
genomic biomarker platform, EpiSwitch(R), which can build molecular
diagnostic classifiers for the prediction of response to therapy,
patient prognosis, disease diagnosis and subtyping, and residual
disease monitoring in a wide range of indications.
Oxford BioDynamics has participated in more than 40 partnerships
with big pharma and leading institutions including Pfizer, EMD
Serono, Genentech, Roche, Biogen, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts
General Hospital and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.
The Company has created a valuable technology portfolio,
including biomarker arrays, molecular diagnostic tests,
bioinformatic tools for 3D genomics and an expertly curated 3D
genome knowledgebase comprising hundreds of millions of data points
from over 15,000 samples in more than 30 human diseases.
OBD is headquartered in Oxford, UK and is listed on AIM of the
London Stock Exchange. It also has a commercial office in
Gaithersburg and a clinical laboratory in Frederick, MD, USA, and a
reference laboratory in Penang, Malaysia.
For more information, please visit the Company's website,
www.oxfordbiodynamics.com , or follow OBD on Twitter
(@OxBioDynamics) and LinkedIn .
About EpiSwitch(R)
The 3D configuration of the genome plays a crucial role in gene
regulation. By mapping this architecture and identifying abnormal
configurations, EpiSwitch(R) can be used to diagnose patients or
determine how individuals might respond to a disease or
treatment.
Built on over 10 years of research, EpiSwitch(R) is Oxford
Biodynamics' award-winning, proprietary platform that enables
screening, evaluation, validation and monitoring of 3D genomic
biomarkers. The technology is fully developed, based on testing of
over 15,000 samples in 30 disease areas, and reduced to
practice.
In addition to stratifying patients with respect to anticipated
clinical outcomes, EpiSwitch(R) data offer insights into systems
biology and the physiological manifestation of disease that are
beyond the scope of other molecular modalities. The technology has
performed well in academic medical research settings and has been
validated through its integration in biomarker discovery and
clinical development with big pharma.
About Bupa UK
Bupa's purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier
lives and making a better world. Health insurance accounts for a
large part of our business with Bupa UK Insurance, the UK's leading
health insurer, providing health and dental insurance to over 3
million people. Bupa Global is the premium health insurance arm of
Bupa, serving 460,000 customers around the world. Bupa Dental Care
is the leading provider of dentistry in the UK, providing dental
services in 475 centres across the UK and Ireland. Bupa Care
Services has around 6,600 residents in over 121 care homes, and 10
Richmond care villages. Bupa Health Services comprises 52 health
clinics, and the Cromwell Hospital in London which provides care
for insured, self-pay and international patients. Bupa directly
employs around 23,000 people in the UK.
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