Benzinga | Feb 17, 2021 08:35AM EST

Predictive Oncology Highlights Use Of Products From Its TumorGenesis Subsidiary By Researches In Ovarian Cancer

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Predictive Oncology (NASDAQ:POAI), a knowledge-driven company focused on applying artificial intelligence ("AI") to personalized medicine and drug discovery, announced today that the products of its wholly owned subsidiary, TumorGenesis, aided researchers in the understanding of how ovarian cancer cells migrate outside the abdominal cavity. The research, completed by a top-tier laboratory in Massachusetts, used TumorGenesis's media to capture, culture, and identify how these cells 'break through' the protective lining in the abdomen, called the omentum or abdominal membrane.



This discovery means that drugs could be targeted against that receptor site of the omentum or lining to effectively 'block' the metastasis of re-occurring ovarian cancer. Nearly 64% of women die from ovarian cancer in the US. The current patient population has over 21,400 new cases with nearly 13,700 dying per year, mostly from re-occurring tumors.

The second big breakthrough was done by another topflight researcher in the UK that used the media to isolate, identify and study a mechanism for treatment for some ovarian cancer patients. The treatment, a PARP inhibitor, inhibits the enzyme that in cancer cells repairs damaged DNA. This treatment sometimes accelerates the metastasis, often killing the patient.

By successfully growing the cell lines used for the treatment, the researchers found a defective enzyme that can be easily blocked by a class of compounds called PARGs (poly (ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase). If the enzymes are blocked, the patients treated are expected to then have a positive response to continued PARP-PARG treatment.

"Both targets of the research aided by TumorGenesis's technology, blocking the omentum penetration and blocking the enzyme that accelerates a response to PARP treatment, once developed and approved, represent several billion dollars in future revenues for biotech or pharma companies. Three currently available PARP inhibitors, each becoming resistant to ovarian cancer over time, generate $2.8 billion in revenue for such companies. That is why TumorGenesis is expanding its product lines, offering services, and helping pharma, biotech, and researchers around the world to unravel cancer's mysteries," said CEO Dr. Carl Schwartz.