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PRESS RELEASE
March, 23, 2015, Lund, Sweden
Immunovia har fått ett anslag på 40 miljoner kronor godkänt av EUs ramprogram
för forskning och innovation, Horizon 2020, för att genomföra klinisk validering av
det första blodbaserade testet för tidig detektion av bukspottkörtelcancer.
(Lund, Sverige, 23 mars, 2015) Immunovia AB annonserar idag att företaget har fått en ansökan på 4,2 miljoner
euro, ca 40 miljoner kronor, godkänd från Horizon 2020 som är EUs övergripande finansiella anslagsinitiativ för
att säkra EUs globala konkurrenskraft.
EU ansökan godkändes för att genomföra klinisk validering av Immunovias biomarkörssignatur, IMMray™
PanCan-d, det första blodbaserade testet för tidig diagnos av bukspottkörtelcancer. Som beskrivs i
utvärderingen av ansökan, är det överordnade målet med detta projekt att ta fram kliniska underlag som visar
att bukspottkörtelcancer kan diagnostiseras i stadier innan symptom uppträder (stadie I och II), när patienten
kan behandlas med framförallt operation.
De initiala retrospektiva studierna med närmare 1000 patienter och kontroller som redan genomförts
konfirmerar att det nya biomarkörstestet, IMMray™ PanCan-d, kan med hög noggrannhet separera patienter
med bukspottkörtelcancer från friska individer.
Mats Grahn, VD Immunovia, kommenterar, “Representerande hela Immunovias team, är vi mycket glada och
tacksamma att ta emot detta signifikanta EU Horizon 2020 anslag. Denna EU finansiering gör det möjligt att
omedelbart fortsätta och expandera den kliniska valideringen och marknadsintroduktionen av IMMray™
PanCan-d för tidig detektion av bukspottkörtelcancer. Vårt mål är att etablera IMMray™ PanCan-d som en
standard bland pankreatologer och diabetes läkare globalt för att kunna upptäcka bukspottkörtelcancer i
högriskgrupper mycket tidigare än vad som är möjligt idag. Vi ser fram emot den spridda användningen av
testet i kliniken då det signifikant kommer att öka överlevnadschanserna och livskvalitén för patienter med
bukspottkörtelcancer och deras familjer”
För mer information kontakta:
Mats Grahn
VD, Immunovia
[email protected]
Media kontakter, var vänliga kontakta:
Laura Chirica, PhD
Chief Commercial Officer, CCO, Immunovia
[email protected]
About Immunovia
Immunovia AB was founded in 2007 by investigators from the Department of Immunotechnology at Lund University and
CREATE Health, the Center for Translational Cancer Research in Lund, Sweden. Immunovia’s strategy is to decipher the
wealth of information in blood and translate it into clinically useful tools to diagnose complex diseases such as cancer,
earlier and more accurately than previously possible. Immunovia´s core technology platform, IMMray™, is based on
antibody biomarker microarray analysis. The company is now performing clinical evidence validation studies for the
commercialization of IMMray™ PanCan-d , the first blood based test for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. (Source:
www.immunovia.com)
About Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7
years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract. It promises more breakthroughs,
discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market. Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument
implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness
Horizon 2020 is open to everyone and actively supports SMEs (small and medium enterprises) by providing both direct
financial support, and indirect support to increase their innovation capacity. 'Innovation in SMEs' aims at creating a bridge
between the core of the framework programme - support to research, development and innovation projects - and the
creation of a favourable ecosystem for SME innovation and growth. (Source: http://ec.europa.eu , Horizon 2020 Research
and Innovation Framework Programme)
About pancreatic cancer
Today, pancreatic cancer also known as pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the 4th most deadly cancer on the same level as
breast cancer. Its 5-year survival rate is less than 4%. If diagnosed 6-12 month earlier than today, the 5 year survival rate
could increase significantly to over 50%. The cancer is characterized by general and non-specific symptoms until it reaches
an advanced stage, by which time current therapy is not effective. In addition, current methods for diagnosis are complex
and not designed for differential diagnosis at an early stage. Pancreatic cancer has four stages that describe the
development of the disease. Early stages are considered stage I and stage II due to the fact that the tumor can be operated;
the disease has not spread into the body and the patient can undergo surgery. Today, patients are diagnosed in the late
stages (stage III and stage IV). In stage III, the disease has spread to the major blood vessels near the pancreas and may
have spread to nearby lymph nodes. In stage IV, tumors may be any size and the disease has spread to both nearby and
distant organs, such as the lung, liver and peritoneal cavity. For individuals at increased risk due to family history or other
factors, effective early screening methods are especially important. A blood test that identifies specific substances in the
blood that is highly indicative of cancer is the ideal solution as an early detection method because of its ease of use and
cost-effectiveness. (Source: www.pancan.org, www.cancerresearchuk.org, https://pancreaticcanceraction.org/pancreaticcancer/)