Epic Sciences Submits IPO Filing Highlighting Liquid Biopsy Platform for Predicting Prostate Cancer Treatment Response

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that biotechnology company Epic Sciences recently announced the latest clinical trial results of its liquid biopsy technology, which can help patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) predict the outcomes of drug treatments for prostate cancer. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Epic Sciences is a biotechnology company headquartered in San Diego, United States, dedicated to the research and development of cancer therapies. The company collaborates with multiple world-leading pharmaceutical companies and cancer centers to provide physicians with effective treatment options and to improve the success rate of anticancer drugs in clinical trials. Its Oncotype DX AR-V7 testing platform is the first and only liquid biopsy testing platform specifically designed for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer refers to epithelial malignant tumors originating in the prostate gland and is one of the most common cancers in men. In the United States, approximately one in five men is affected by prostate cancer, with its incidence rate second only to that of lung cancer. Data indicate that the global market size for prostate cancer treatment will reach $8.3 billion by 2023.

Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) refers to a type of prostate cancer in which the disease persists despite initial continuous androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Currently, ADT is a crucial adjuvant endocrine therapy for prostate cancer, encompassing maximal androgen blockade, medical castration, and surgical castration. Typically, ADT can inhibit tumor progression; however, a subset of patients still progresses to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

mCRPC has long been one of the most challenging aspects of prostate cancer treatment, with research progress remaining sluggish over the past few decades. Currently, the primary therapeutic agents for mCRPC are enzalutamide and abiraterone acetate. However, cross-resistance to these drugs is common, and tumor cross-resistance cannot be identified based solely on clinical features. Consequently, there is an urgent need among physicians and patients for a method to predict therapeutic efficacy.

Epic Sciences conducted a clinical trial involving 118 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) receiving androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibitor therapy, and developed a biopsy technology. This technology detects the presence of the AR-V7 (androgen receptor splice variant-7) protein biomarker in the nuclei of circulating tumor cells from patient blood samples, thereby predicting therapeutic efficacy. The trial results indicated that patients without AR-V7 had a median overall survival (OS) of more than two years, whereas those with detectable intracellular AR-V7 had an OS of only eight months.

Andrew Armstrong, Head of Liquid Biopsy Technology and Professor of Medical Oncology and Urology at Duke University, stated, “Based on clinical trial results, we recommend that patients with positive test results discontinue hormone therapy and instead opt for chemotherapy or other treatments.”

(Compiled by Feng Yutong)