TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – July 11, 2017) – Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX:HBP)(FRANKFURT:HBP) (“Helix” or the “Company”), an immuno-oncology company developing innovative drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of cancer, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Moffitt Cancer Center to extract radiomics data using their proprietary HealthMyne platform from CT scans of late stage lung cancer patients treated with L-DOS47.
Radiomic features have the potential to uncover disease characteristics that would be otherwise missed during a routine CT or PET scan analysis. These distinctive imaging features may be useful for predicting prognosis and therapeutic response for various conditions. In collaboration with Helix, the Moffitt’s Cancer Imaging and Technology Center of Excellence imaging informatics specialists will build response prediction models using delta radiomics from CT scans of patients treated with L-DOS47 in the LDOS002 Phase I monotherapy study.
Helix will be teaming up with Dr. Robert Gillies, Director of Moffitt’s Cancer Imaging and Technology Center of Excellence and the Martin Silbiger Chair of Cancer Imaging and Metabolism. Dr. Gillies has received numerous local, national and international awards for his teaching and research. His research is focused on functional and molecular imaging of cancer with an emphasis on the use of imaging to inform evolutionary models of carcinogenesis and response to therapy.
“Both Helix and the Moffitt team have a common research interest that can advance the knowledge of tumour microenvironment and how it influences carcinogenesis,” said Heman Chao, Ph.D., Chief Executive & Science Officer of Helix. “The data generated from this project may identify a prognostic phenotype which Helix can incorporate in future clinical trials with L-DOS47.”
“Typical responses of cancer to therapies are measured by simply the size of the tumor,” said Dr. Robert Gillies. “We know that, for many cancers and many therapies, changes in size alone do not predict eventual overall outcome. To address this deficiency, we have created an approach called ‘Radiomics’, wherein multiple features are extracted from patients’ images (MRI, PET, or CT scans) and we can determine which of these features combine to give higher predictive value. With another partner, HealthMye, this approach has been incorporated this into an FDA-approved clinical system, and we will use this system to analyzed images from a prior clinical trial that was conducted by Helix. We expect that this work will be performed expeditiously, and that we will soon know if radiomic features can predict responsiveness to L-DOS47.”
Collaboration Overview
Under this research plan titled “Radiomics of Response”, Moffitt’s Cancer Imaging and Technology Center of Excellence imaging informatics specialists will extract longitudinal radiomic features from CT and PET scans of late-stage lung cancer patients treated with L-DOS47. These features are extracted from both primary and index lesion. The research project will be performed under the supervision of Dr. Robert Gillies. Dr. Gillies is the Director of Moffitt’s Cancer Imaging and Technology Center of Excellence. Dr. Gillies expertise in the area of radiomics will be vital to the success of this project. Following approval from the Moffitt Cancer Center Institutional Review Board, the team at Moffitt will use their proprietary HealthMyne platform to extract quantitative radiomic data from CT scans obtained from Phase I patients treated with L-DOS47. The research radiologists will confirm locations, and score primary lesions with sematic scoring schema developed by the team at Moffitt. In collaboration with Helix, Moffitt imaging informatics specialists will build response prediction models using delta radiomics.
About Helix BioPharma Corp.
Helix BioPharma Corp. is an immuno-oncology company specializing in the field of cancer therapy. The company is actively developing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of cancer based on its proprietary technologies. Helix’s product development initiatives include its novel L-DOS47 new drug candidate. Helix is currently listed on the TSX and FSE under the symbol “HBP”.
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 48 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s excellence in research, clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the No. 6 cancer hospital in the nation and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the “Best Hospitals” for cancer care since 1999. Moffitt devotes more than 2 million square feet to research and patient care. Moffitt’s expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet® status, its highest distinction. With more than 5,600 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $2.1 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About L-DOS47
L-DOS47 is Helix’s first immunoconjugate based drug candidate in development based on the Company’s novel DOS47 platform technology, which is designed to use an innovative approach to modify the microenvironmental conditions of cancer cells in a manner that leads to their destruction.
Cautionary Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws including, without limitation, those relating to Helix’s operations and strategy and its research and development activities. These statements generally can be identified by forward looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intends”, “believe” or “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations.
Although Helix believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated and no assurance can be given that these expectations will be realized, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, risks inherent in Helix’s research and development activities and those risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, as more fully described in Helix’s most recent Annual Information Form, including under the headings “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors”, filed under Helix’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com (together, the “Helix Risk Factors”). Certain material factors, estimates or assumptions have been applied in making forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the safety and efficacy of the Company’s drug product candidates; that sufficient financing will be obtained in a timely manner to allow the Company to continue operations and implement its clinical trials in the manner and on the timelines anticipated; the timely provision of services and supplies or other performance of contracts by third parties; future costs; the absence of any material changes in business strategy or plans; the timely receipt of required regulatory approvals and strategic partner support and that the factors described in the Helix Risk Factors will not cause the Company’s actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These cautionary statements qualify all such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements and information are based on the beliefs, assumptions, opinions, plans and expectations of Helix’s management on the date of this news release, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement or information should those beliefs, assumptions, opinions, plans or expectations, or other circumstances change, except as required by law.
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