Duo Teams Up to Develop Antigen-Targeted Probes for Early Cancer Detection
Owlstone Medical, a company focused on precision medicine and early detection of disease, has announced a research agreement with Bicycle Therapeutics. The latter is a company developing new therapeutics based on bicyclic peptide technology.
As part of the partnership, the companies will combine technologies and methods to explore the feasibility of developing antigen-targeted diagnostic probes using bicyclic peptides as targeting systems. This study is related to Owlstone’s Exogenous Volatile Organic Compounds (EVOC) probe.
Analyzes will initially focus on lung cancer screening as the first proof of principle leading to broader possibilities by facilitating selective accumulation of probes in tumors. This increases signal and improves specificity.
If successful, the resulting antigen-targeted EVOC probes could potentially be used in preclinical studies supporting both cell-based and in vivo studies. Clinical trials for patient stratification and target engagement measurement. Also, as a companion diagnostic to identify responders/non-responders for treatment selection and measure target engagement during the course of treatment.
Meanwhile, Owlstone is developing diagnostic tests in areas of high unmet clinical need. This includes early detection of lung cancer, which remains the most common cancer in the world. To enhance this purpose, Owlstone incorporated the use of his EVOC probe.
These probes harness the activity of enzymes expressed within the tumor microenvironment to release volatile reporter chemicals that can be detected in respiration when tumors are present. This approach, explored through collaborative research, leverages Bicycle’s proprietary technology to direct the binding and accumulation of probes to tumor cells.
Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO of Owlstone Medical, explains:
He added: “
