Pangea Partners with FibroFighters to Advance Rare Liver Cancer Treatment

Pangea Biomed, the startup behind the innovative treatment response predictor, ENLIGHT, today announced its partnership with patient-centric advocacy organization FibroFighters to advance treatment for fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) patients.

Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare liver cancer that typically presents in young adolescents and young adults at a median age of 22 who have no history of liver disease. There is no clear standard of care for the disease, and in the setting of metastatic disease, 5-year survival rates are approximately 39 percent.

“Since FLC makes up about 1% of all primary liver cancers, there is limited data on the disease, which impedes treatment,” said Pangea CEO Tuvik Beker, Ph.D. “Fortunately, by design, ENLIGHT is able to surface relevant insights specific to a patient’s tumor even without significant training datasets.”

Using ENLIGHT, which leverages unsupervised learning and sequenced tumor transcriptomics, Pangea will suggest treatments for FLC patients that FibroFighters work with, compare treatment response predictions against treatment outcomes, as well as with ex-vivo models, and refine models for treatment response and resistance.

“FLC is devastating, and patients frequently find themselves with few or no treatment options due to limited data on the disease and narrow biomarkers for treatment eligibility,” said Tom Stockwell, Executive Director of FibroFighters. “We hope to not only suggest better treatments and treatment combinations to clinicians and their patients within our community, but further demonstrate that this approach is valuable.”

In December 2022, Pangea published a case study in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer on the ENLIGHT-matched treatment of an FLC patient. Despite common biomarkers for immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) coming back negative, the patient went into complete remission after being treated with an ENLIGHT-matched combination of ipilimumab (anti-CTLA4) and nivolumab (anti-PD-1).

“We know some FLC patients will respond to combination therapies, including checkpoint inhibitors, we just don’t know which combination in advance. We were keyed into Pangea’s technology following its publication in JITC of a first ever sustained remission in an FLC patient using dual checkpoint inhibitors,” said FibroFighters Medical Director Dr. Paul Kent, past founder of the Rush University Fibrolamellar Carcinoma Program. “Unlike other sequencing platforms, Pangea tests checkpoint inhibitors alone and in combination for specific patients, allowing for a more rational choice of systemic therapy where patients are likely to respond. We look forward to bringing this analysis to the FLC patients we work with to hopefully broaden their treatment options.”

To learn more about Pangea Biomed’s technology, please visit: PangeaBiomed.com.

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Following the heinous terrorist attacks that have shocked Israel and the world, our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families. In the face of this devastating adversity and the unfolding humanitarian crisis following it, Pangea remains committed to its guiding principles of improving precision oncology for the sake of patients of any country, ethnicity or religious belief. Let us stand united against any form of aggression, working together towards a safe, peaceful future.

About Pangea Biomed

Founded in 2018, Pangea Biomed developed ENLIGHT – the world’s most advanced multi-cancer, multi-therapy response predictor. By combining machine learning and deep RNA analysis, the company is mapping tumor molecular signatures to dynamically and adaptively personalize cancer care for a healthier world. Pangea aims to bring effective precision oncology to cancer patients, improve oncology drug development and empower oncologists to treat patients with success. Pangea is backed by NFX, and its technology has been published in leading journals, including Cell, Med, Science Advances, Cancer Cell, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer and Nature Communications.

About FibroFighters

FibroFighters Foundation is a patient-centric advocacy and education organization dedicated to helping patients and caregivers affected by Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma. FibroFighters Foundation provides consultation, education, and resources to patients and their caregivers to help navigate this disease and find the best treatment options for each unique fighter.

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