On June 15, 2016 Exemplar Genetics reported its President, John Swart, Ph.D., will present today at the 15th Annual World Preclinical Congress during the Preclinical Models in Oncology session (Press release, Exemplar Genetics, JUN 15, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513374]). Dr. Swart’s presentation titled ‘Genetically Engineered Miniswine Models of Cancer’ will provide an overview of Exemplar’s novel ExeGen TP53R167H and ExeGen KRASG12D/+/TP53R167H/+ miniswine research models developed for oncology to help bridge the pre-clinical gap from small animal models to humans.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Exemplar Genetics Logo
Dr. Swart commented, "We believe the development of these new genetically engineered miniature swine models will resolve inadequacies with traditional rodent models of cancer, which while valuable in certain aspects of research, have been inefficient at translating to human clinical trials."
As described in the Journal of Clinical Investigation publication, "Development and translational imaging of a TP53 porcine tumorigenesis model", current cancer research models are informative yet fail to accurately recapitulate human disease, and pre-clinical results utilizing these models often have poor translational value to the clinic. In particular, the lack of a large-animal model that accurately replicates human cancer pathologies has been a significant barrier to the development of effective diagnostics, as well as surgical and therapeutic interventions.
Exemplar’s genetically engineered ExeGen TP53R167H model expresses a mutation in the gene that encodes p53 (TP53), which is orthologous to one commonly found in humans. It is estimated p53 function is compromised in the vast majority of human tumors, through either TP53 gene mutation or alterations targeting the numerous regulators of p53 signaling. Studies with the TP53R167H model demonstrated tumor formation and characteristic chromosomal instability similar to what is seen in humans with mutant p53 alleles. Additionally, Exemplar has developed the ExeGen KRASG12D/+/TP53R167H/+ model which contains a conditional KRAS mutation on the background of TP53-targeted pigs that should allow for the inducement of human-like tumors in a tissue specific manner.
In April 2016, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) exercised enforcement discretion in regard to Exemplar’s ExeGen low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) miniswine clearing it for commercial use as a research model. As the first genetically engineered miniswine model reviewed and cleared by the FDA, this powerful investigational platform is available to researchers and drug developers helping forge a more reliable, consistent path from pre-clinical testing through human studies. Exemplar continues to work closely with the FDA to make each of the miniswine research models in its broad, extensive pipeline for use in the evaluation of several human health conditions including rare diseases, cancer, cystic fibrosis, neuromuscular/neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular disease, available to researchers working on solutions for these devastating diseases.