Repurposing for Ovarian Cancer: TwinEdge to work with UK-biotech ValiRx

Under the agreement, TwinEdge will combine their proprietary methodology with drug response datasets obtained from Inaphaea’s Patient derived Cells (PDCs) to create “patient-derived avatars”. These are digitally actionable representations of the patients’ tumours, ready for testing with new drugs in “in-avatar” trials. Such digital analysis and extrapolation of responses in PDCs can be used to provide mechanistic insight, predict response of new or repurposed drugs, and identify biomarkers for patient selection in-silico.

TwinEdge is building what will be one of the world’s largest population of digital twins, with the TwinEdge Patient Avatar Collection currently incorporating over 10,000 individual patient avatars. In this repurposing project, using 5 different PDC models, Inaphaea has identified around 250 hits from an initial screen of 3000 compounds. Around 50 of these molecules have known activity in cancer, and full dose response curves in selected Patient Derived Models will be generated for 10 selected molecules. The data will then be processed in TwinEdge’s digital twin AI platform to support new patent filings and initial commercial discussions with potential licensees, as well as application for non-dilutive grant funding to support further development of these and other assets from the 3K screen.

Michael Prosser, CEO of TwinEdge Commented “This partnership with ValiRx and Inaphaea marks a significant milestone, both for TwinEdge Bioscience as a company, and for the broader deployment of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in oncology drug development. Together, we are combining deep scientific expertise with complementary innovative platforms to generate more predictive insights, reduce reliance on animal models, and ultimately accelerate better therapies to patients.

“At TwinEdge we are proud to be at the forefront of Digital Twin technology, and by delivering population-scale insight throughout the drug development process, we enable our clients to make better decisions regarding which translational programmes progress to clinical trials, and how those clinical trials are designed and run. We aim to redefine translational models, speed decision-making, and support the development of next-generation oncology treatments. Through partners such as ValiRx and Inaphaea, we can help translate science into real patient outcomes.”

Mark Eccleston, CEO of ValiRx commented “Our new partnership with TwinEdge Bioscience is a huge step forward in both our service and in house development capabilities at Inaphaea and for the broader ValiRx group. Digitising our 2D and 3D PDC models further leverages the valuable RNA-seq and treatment response data sets we have and provides another New Approach Methodology (NAM) to accelerate our translational drug development programs.

“The Patient Avatar approach enables unprecedented large-scale clinical insight at translational and early clinical decision points allowing an in-silico screen of 10,000 digitised patents and counting. This approach will accelerate internal and customer drug development programs and provide clinical insight at a fraction of the cost of a real-world clinical trial. The predictive biomarker readouts will also streamline future in-human and in-canine clinical trials by matching the right patient with the right drug, increasing the chances of success and maximising asset value to prospective licensees through an expedited clinical trails pathway. We will be developing a data package for these assets based on PDC profiling and our new in-silico clinical prediction and precision biomarker approach for patient selection with TwinEdge, providing a virtual clinical trial data set to take forward into partnering discussions whilst actively applying for grant funding to continue their development.”