Genialis and PanCAN Collaborate to Advance KRAS Diagnostics

CHICAGO--Genialis, a leading RNA-biomarker company, has announced a collaboration with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) to further validate the Genialis™ krasID biomarker for pancreatic cancer. This announcement was made at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The krasID biomarker is an advanced Artificial Intelligence classifier designed to predict patient response to KRAS inhibitors. Annually, approximately 150,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with KRAS-mutated cancers, with up to 95 percent of pancreatic cancer cases involving a KRAS mutation, particularly the G12D subtype, for which there are currently no approved treatments. The collaboration aims to use PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor precision medicine service to validate the effectiveness of krasID in pancreatic cancer, facilitating the development of new treatments and aiding clinical decision-making for physicians and their patients.

Anna Berkenblit, M.D., MMSc, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at PanCAN, stated, “Pancreatic cancer has a survival rate of just 13 percent over five years. By teaming up with Genialis, we can leverage data from our Know Your Tumor service to validate the krasID biomarker, accelerating the development of KRAS-targeted therapies and improving patient outcomes.”

Traditional KRAS biomarkers focus solely on mutation status, which, while necessary for treatment eligibility, does not sufficiently predict or monitor response nor inform subsequent therapeutic strategies. In contrast, the Genialis krasID employs high-dimensional gene expression data to capture the unique biological complexity of each patient. Previous studies, including a poster presentation at the AACR in April 2024, demonstrated that krasID could predict preclinical drug response with high accuracy (0.94 AUROC) and identify real-world patient responders (0.80 AUROC). Kaplan-Meier analysis also indicated that patients with a high krasID score had a median treatment duration of nearly a year, compared to just 158 days for those with a low score, underscoring the classifier’s potential to stratify patients effectively.

Rafael Rosengarten, Ph.D., CEO of Genialis, remarked, “The RAS gene family has been a challenging target for cancer treatment for over four decades. Despite the prevalence of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer, therapeutic options remain limited. Our partnership with PanCAN aims to advance therapeutic options for patients in dire need of new treatments.”

Genialis is now inviting applications for krasID’s early access program. Currently, over 50 biopharma companies are developing more than 70 KRAS-targeted drugs for over 12 disease indications. The KRAS therapy market, valued at approximately $240 million today, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 36% to reach $10 billion by 2032. Existing diagnostics for KRAS-targeted therapies are limited to mutation-based tests, highlighting the need for more comprehensive diagnostic tools like krasID.

Genialis focuses on creating clinically actionable biomarkers derived from diverse cancer data sets to better predict patient responses and guide treatment decisions. With trusted pharma and diagnostics partners, Genialis aims to revolutionize medicine through data-driven solutions. 

How to obtain the latest research advancements in the field of biopharmaceuticals?

In the Synapse database, you can keep abreast of the latest research and development advances in drugs, targets, indications, organizations, etc., anywhere and anytime, on a daily or weekly basis. Click on the image below to embark on a brand new journey of drug discovery!